The Riddle's Birthright
by Quaffle
Summary: In his quest to retrieve the legendary Light of Latrinval, Harry Potter must face off against his darkest fears, one that prevents him from finding true love. H/C, R/Hr, D/G sub-plot.
1. The Journey

Chapter 1 

The Journey

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High upon the hills of a barren wasteland, surrounded by nothing but shadows, a towering and impenetrable fortress stood, forgotten for years. The swirling clouds and dark fog served to hide the castle's thick walls, it's sturdy gate, and it's sprawling moat, but nothing, magical or ordinary, could hide the screams that came from within. To the villagers of a nearby-inhabited island, the screams had become a manifestation of their irate god of death. The howls didn't usually last any longer than a few days, and horrid though they certainly were, the unusual silence that followed each fitful period of screaming seemed even worse in comparison. 

"Another one has descended…" the villagers would say, looking fearfully at each other.

Those few who had attempted to go in search of the reward that would certainly be bestowed upon a warrior brave enough to penetrate Death's own domain had never come back out of his mysterious waters. All trace of them would disappear leaving their families to wonder at what mysteries had consumed their loved ones. 

Yet despite this, amidst the dark shadows swirling around an endless maze of mist and clouds, a figure in black vainly tried to find his way through them. His small rowboat almost forgotten, no paddle was evident, yet it seemed to be moving effortlessly along the water without one. A faint glow emanated from an slender rod the figure was carrying, although no lamp was evident. 

Whispers of promised death and an insatiable desire to run seemed to be permeable in the very air around the forbidden island, yet the figure in black seemed unperturbed. Dark, glowing eyes emerged from a skull-white hood, as the figure turned towards the island. The boat was still moving inexorably forward towards a fate worse than death, seemingly unaware of it's master's plight. The very waters seemed to part before this odd scene, until the boat suddenly stopped, and then was raised high in the air, moving faster and faster towards an unknown destination.

For the first time, the dark figure seemed to be showing signs of strain, fingers tightened upon the wand it was carrying. As the boat continued to move towards the island at a rapid pace, the figure paused, just as an ear-splitting scream pierced the air. He was getting close, and could feel it, could anticipate the coming victory, or certain death. Eyes betraying the exuberance he felt at the mission he had been granted, flashed with unrestrained joy, just as the boat split apart with an ear-splitting roar, as an explosion seemed to tear at the very core of the earth.

With more force than intended, the figure fell unimpeded to the ground, robes catching upon the sharp rocks on the surface as the intruder just narrowly avoided a gruesome death. As he struggled up attempting to recover himself, the whispers of death grew louder into screams of rage, and the desire to run seemed impossible not to heed. Yet the figure remained stalwart, committed to the mission he had been given with an fanatical devotion that would have chilled the hearts of anybody who had been able to see, to witness the moment of triumph.

Yet more obstacles seemed determined to remain in the figure's path. From the darkest shadows, where no light could penetrate, hooded figures of unspeakable terror rose to confront this intruder. Never before had they been called upon to defend their fortress, yet now, to considerable surprise, someone had actually come, willingly to them. It was an opportunity they could not resist taking as their long, sinewy arms reached out to grab this stubborn trespasser and shake the very life out of him. Murmurs of depraved delight rang out in the air as the figure backed away, momentarily horrified at the sight of the dementors, creatures so horrible they were feared more than death.

"Expecto Patronum!" A shrill voice came suddenly from under the hood of the mysterious prowler, wand flashing in the air. A red, bloodthirsty spider suddenly leapt from within the wand and charged towards the group of dementors, it's fangs glistening, bloodlust overriding it's basic instincts. The dementors backed away momentarily, startled by the sudden appearance of the instruder's savior, and distracted by the power evident in this mysterious trespasser. Yet they were many, and powerful though this apparition was, it was no match for the hundreds of dementors that were now appearing from all over the place so suddenly that it almost seemed like they were dropping from the skies. The spider was soon torn into a dozen, bloody pieces by hundreds of hands.

Horrified at the failure of his spell, the figure started backing away even further, slipping upon the jagged surfaces of the rocks he has just crashed upon, his eyes flashing not with desire now, but fear. Wand still shaking in the air, he attempted to repeat it's spell, but the words would not come as fear finally overwhelmed him. As he back away fearfully, his robes suddenly caught themselves upon a rock, and he was pulled down by his own weight. The dementors closed in, confident and assured of the coming kill, their delight almost tangible as they moved closer and closer.

"Expecto…Patronum." The words were spoken, not shouted, and seemed to come from everywhere, and no where, all at once. The cold, calculated voice conjuring up the same spell that had failed just moments ago, was filled with such power, that it filled the figure below with more fear than the group of dementors approaching could possibly instill in a lifetime. The figure trembled helplessly knowing what was to come, no longer having a cause to fear the creatures approaching him, their hoods drawing back. The first dementor to close upon the now cowering figure, unaware of the fate that awaited it, drew back it's hood, about to bestow the dreaded kiss of the dementor's, a fate more horrible than death. As it drew closer to the sniveling creature, the dementor was whipped back with unfathomable force by an invisible assailant, flung to the ground before being ground into dust, in the mere span of seconds.

A second approached, seemingly unaware of the first's fate, but before it had gotten within a few feet of it's goal, it was crushed, dark hood dropping away as an unseen yet potent force squeezed at it with unrestrained murderous intensity. The torso of the offending creature seemed to bend at a point unnatural for even dementors before it's entire body seemed to break with a sickening crack, as the creature fell forward, dead before it hit the ground.

The group of dementors, hundreds strong, now paused. What force was protecting this intruder, and how could it have so easily dispatched two of their own kind. Their lust for the kill was tempered by an insatiable need to understand what was happening and why. No longer moving towards the figure, but now away from it, the very air all around them seemed to waver, as a solid figure began to form. Lines appeared all around what was once emptiness, a enormous bulk of a creature so ancient, and mysterious that it's kind were rarely seen at all began to form. Shadowy blackness engulfed the area all around them, as a black dragon reared its magnificent head upward towards the sky, it's size dwarfing the entire group of dementors, all together who were now backing away with more speed.

The figure on the ground trembled, it's eyes no longer glistening with zeal, but with unfathomable panic. Tears seemed to streak down his mask, as he begged for forgiveness of all he had ever done to deserve this fate, before an amused chuckle broke from near the direction of the dragon's back. Everywhere now, more and more figures were apparating all around the lone figure, joining him in reverence to their master wearing identical black robes and white masks.

"You have done well, Lucius…although your handling of the that spell could have been a bit better. I had expected better performance from man so versed in the dark arts…", the voice said again, as a thin, gaunt, shadow of a man strode down from upon the dragon's back.

"Forgive me, Master…but there were too many..I will do better nex-"

"Yes..yes you will..there is no doubt to that.." The man behind the voice finally whispered, interrupting Lucius Malfoy before he could finish. Lucius looked up, eyes glazed with fear as he looked into the eyes of his master, a being so powerful that his very name not uttered for fear of reprisal. Dark eyes formed the beginnings, of a bony white mask of a face. Thick robes of night black encased the rest of the man's body, and a thin, long wand was evident in his hand. But what was most startling about this man, was his eyes. Dark red eyes filled with such hate, and gloom, that to look upon them was to see countless deaths and acts of torture in startling detail. To look upon those eyes was to see the power of Lord Voldermoot, "You will do better, for failure will be death, as you well know Lucius.."

"Yes..yes master…thank you for saving m-.."

"Oh but I have not Lucius,…" Lord Voldemort chuckled, a hallow sound with no humor behind it. "You see..my servants pay dearly for their failures…and you, have failed me."

"But master..you are here, the spell must have worke-"

"Silence." Again, the words of command were spoken, not shouted. Yet the calm, assured whisper of Lord Voldemort could promise more terrors than any other voice could. "You have failed. You were to continue to the prison and finish the task yourself. Yet I had to save you, again, as I have always had to. You are beginning to prove most useless, Lucius."

"Ye…yes, Master..I will do.."

"Silence!" Lord Voldermort finally snapped, his eyes flashing with sudden anger. The cowering man before him trailed off, his hands shaking he clung to his master's robes, pleading for mercy. Yet mercy was not on Lord Voldermort's mind. "You are lucky indeed, that my apparation was much more powerful than yours.."

With that, Lord Voldermort, and most of the assembled Death Eaters turned to gaze upon the creature now taking up an enormous amount of space. The black dragon had stretched out it's wings to their full span, and was still glaring fiercely at the huddled group of dementors, now much farther back than they were before. Every few minutes, a dementor would become brave enough to attempt to cross over to the assembled group of Death Eaters, and the dragon would calmly breathe fire all over it, burning it to a crisp, and startling more than one Death Eater.

"Capable isn't it….." Lord Voldermort said, a smile caressing his thin face. "Very capable…something which I'm afraid, you aren't…" Eyes narrowing, smile becoming wider, Lord Voldermort turned to gaze at Lucius, who was too afraid to look up. "Yes…I'm afraid…you will have to be punished Lucius..for your own good you could imagine.."

"Plea-"

"Crucius!"

And then the screams came.


	2. A Lazy Summer

Chapter 2

A Lazy Summer

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It was summer, and the days on Privet Drive were spent in boredom and contemplation for Harry. Record heat was scorching the muggle world, and many children his age were out swimming, or eating ice cream with friends. However, the boredom actually seemed to be a relief to Harry, who rarely had any time alone. For Harry Potter was no ordinary boy, but a wizard, and a very famous one at that. He was in fact the only wizard to have survived a death curse from Lord Voldermort, the most powerful dark wizard ever, and lived to tell of it. A scar, which ran along his forehead, seemed to be the only reminder to Harry of his ordeal. Although the emotional pains that he felt when he thought of his parents would never go away.

The long hours spent in musing now were mostly due to the Dursleys, the family that Harry lived with during the summer. With the failure of the previous year's delight, Dudley had become even more morose than usual. When the school he had been attending refused to have him back because they simply had no uniforms of his gargantuan size, Mrs. and Mr. Dursley had been forced to send him to Fat Camp for the summer to curb his weight before it got too out of control.

If you had asked Harry, it was way too late. 

Boot camp was more like it. A boot camp just full of children like Dudley, who had grown not to the size of young healthy boys and girls, but to young whales who overindulged in salmon. The camp gave strict diets to each and every one of it's wards, and forced exercise upon all of them. Running, swimming, weights, anything that would help them lose the weight they needed to. Mr. Dursley had complained that the camp was dreadfully expensive but had shut up when Mrs. Dursley had threatened to send him in with his son.

Whenever he thought of it, Harry Potter couldn't help but laugh at the thought of the rotund Dudley desperately running laps around a track while drill sergeants screamed in his ears. To make Dudley feel better, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia had gone to stay with him during the day, so he wouldn't feel so alone during the day. The fact that Uncle Vernon had to give up hours of work to face the same conditions his son did, did nothing for his disposition when he returned home each day. To this end, Harry had avoided the Dursleys for most of the summer, and they were no more inclined to talk to him than they were before.

Not that he was lonely. His best friends from Hogwarts, the wizarding school that he had attended were had banded together to send him letters every week or so, describing their own summer vacations. He picked up a picture of Hermione and Ron together beaming up at him every so often and thought of the last year. It had been, if it could have been, a year more unusual and extraordinary than any other Harry had ever attended. He had been chosen as school champion through a bizarre set of events that had let to his attempted murder by no other than Lord Voldermort. He had attended the Quidditch World Cup and even met face to face, Viktor Krum, a reowned seeker in the wizarding world. Harry himself was a avid player of Quidditch and could not wait until he returned to Hogwarts.

The picture of Hermione and Ron together had been taken very recently however, which was unusual, because Viktor Krum had been very taken with Hermione when he had been at Hogwarts, and had asked him to come stay with him during the summer. Ron however, had been most emphatically against the excursion, until she finally told him he could come to. 

Ron had agreed most whole-heartedly afterwards, although the letters that Harry got describing Krum's disgust when he had discovered the news had been most amusing.

He paused as he put the picture down, and then picked up another one. Cedric…

Although he had never really considered Cedric a friend in the beginning, he could see this was only because of his own shortsightedness and jealously. For Cedric Diggory, had also been picked as school champion, the rightful one as Harry looked back upon the events of the last year. Cedric Diggory, had also gotten very close to Harry's crush, Cho Chang, a very pretty sixth year at Hogwarts. The fact that he had gotten to know Cedric and become friends with him, did little to assauge the pain whenever he chose to remember his death.

Harry had been lucky when he confronted Lord Voldermort, and Cedric..well..Cedric hadn't been.

Harry closed his eyes quickly and shook his head, dispelling the images that suddenly came to him. Cedric dancing with Cho, Cedric laughing confidently at Harry, Cedric offering him advice, Cedric lying prone on the ground, dead. He paused, and put the picture down, and raised the final one.

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Cho….

Harry sighed as he looked at the picture of her, one he had magically taken of her in the library when she had not been looking. He shook his head sadly and this time let the images come. He had never forgiven himself for letting Cedric follow him to his death, after all, it wasn't Cedric's fault that Lord Voldermort wanted to kill him. Harry had tried talking to Cho before he had to return to the Dursleys for the summer, but she had been so listless that he given up before he had even really started. He had wanted to beg her for her forgiveness..to tell her everything would be alright. He wanted to tell her how much she had meant to Cedric..he had wanted to tell her how much she meant to him…but he hadn't. He had walked back to his life at the Dursley's knowing that he might not have a second chance. For Lord Voldermort had come back, and would certainly make his life infinitely more complicated.

After all had happened, he wouldn't be surprised if Cho never wanted to speak to him again.

A loud flapping noise awakened Harry from his musings, and he paused, looking up as a strange, graw and black owl flew into the room. It was unmistakably an messenger from the wizarding world to judge from the parcel that hung from its claws. Yet it was neither Ron nor Hermione's, who were usually the only two who sent him letters. The owl landed on his shoulder in a dignified manner, and pecked him irately when he didn't immediately untie the parcel. He paused before doing so listening very carefully for any signs of the Dursley's waking up. 

It seemed lack of work and food had given the Dursley's more to sleep for, although Uncle Vernon had began sneaking out very late at night to raid the fridge and coming back before Aunt Petunia could discover him, and Harry could never be too careful. Finally he untied the parcel and set it down on the ground before letting the mysterious owl into the cage besides his own snowy-white one, Hedwig. Hedwig was much too busy sleeping to notice this intruder. Harry had kept her up all last week delivering replies to Ron and Hermione when he had learned of their shared vacation. Without Hedwig guarding her precious treats, the strange owl helped itself to them, gobbling down two at a time.

He chuckled somewhat, _must be hungry,_ before glancing at the parcel. No mention of the sender was evident from the packaging, and his mind immediately went to Sirius Black. His godfather, and the only real family that Harry had, had been on the run ever since he had been falsely accused of murder. Now and then, Harry would send owls to him informing him of his schoolwork. He frowned however, Sirius was on a mission for Dumbledore the last time he had seen him, rounding up some of his old friends now that Lord Voldermort was back, and was very unlikely to send Harry anything for now, lest he be discovered.

He examined the package more closely, and frowned again, doubts forming on his mind, wild suspicions racing in his thoughts. Maybe Voldermort was looking for a quick way to do him in, and opening the package would kill him instantly. Maybe one of his supporters, the Death Eaters, had decided to take the glory of Harry Potter's death for himself. Harry smiled faintly when he realized the absurdity of his line of thinking, and chuckled. He could imagine Hermione now.

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Oh! An unmarked package? But who could be sending you something like that…I know the thing to do, the thing to do is send it right back to wherever it came from. Wait let me cast a protection hex on it to make sure…in fact, why don't you wait while I get my book on dangerous curses that will fit in a box. Whatever you do, don't open it though!

He smiled a bit sadly, missing his friends quite a bit, before carefully opening the parcel. Within it, he was startled to find a small, golden object, and instantly recognized it.

An egg…..from the Tri-Wizard Tournament of the previous year. They were to be the champion's clues for their second task, although he had given his to Dumbledore once the tournament was over. He had felt so guilty about the tournament after he had almost given away the trophy, but Dumbledore had been very firm, and told Harry that he was place it in the Great Hall. If he didn't want it, he could at least respect the Tri-Wizard tournament and what it stood for, even after what had happened. 

He examined the egg closely and concentrated. He was pretty sure that Fleur had kept hers when she had gone back to Beauxbatons, although there were rumors all around the school, from mostly the male side that she was transferring to Hogwarts because she had made so many new friends. From what he had seen of Fleur, she had made more than a few friends. Hundreds of Hogwarts students, all from the male side served her every whim, and this seemed to make her rather happy. He had heard from Hermione, that Krum too had kept his, to put with his dozen other Quidditch trophies and such. Than this must be….

His eyes widened, as he looked it over even more carefully than before. _Cedric's egg…_ He felt the familiar pangs of guilt. He carefully put it back in the parcel before withdrawing a small scroll, wondering if Cedric's parents had given him the egg. As he opened it up, a unique scrawling signature at the bottom caught him by surprise.

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Harry,

Hermione was nice enough to give me the address of where you stay in the summer. She also warned me about sending it during the night because of your cousins, but I'm afraid my owl is still not very well trained. I'm sorry if I get you in trouble. I thought it was important that you knew Cedric's funeral is over. A group of his friends were there to say goodbye to him, and I knew you would have come if you could, but Hermione told me about how your cousins hate us wizards, and how it's almost impossible to whisk you away during the summer.

I..enclosed Cedric's egg with the parcel I'm sending. I thought you would like to have it. He told me all about you helping him with the dragons, and how grateful he was. And..you're the only one I can think of who would appreciate it. School is starting soon, hope to see you ther……

The letter seemed to trail off and Harry looked down near the bottom, and almost undetectable, in the lightest handwriting he had ever seen were quickly scrawled.

_Hermione told that your cousins are going away, and you spend most of your time alone. I thought I could come visit if you didn't mind. I'm going to be staying at a friend's house,. Hope to see you soon….._

Cho Chang

P.S. I'm not sure how far away your house is, so Rascal, my owl might be a little hungry.

Stunned, Harry put the scroll carefully back in the parcel, and looked at Cho's owl, who had now managed to somehow devour all the owl treats that Hedwig had neglected to eat. A little hungry wasn't quite how he would describe Rascal. Famished was more like it.

He glanced over at the letter once more, questions going through his head. Why would Cho want to visit him? It was true that he was alone for most of the day, but he usually spent them reading about Quidditch or writing letters to Ron and Hermione. Harry had in fact, known about Cedric's funeral. Ron had wrote to him, telling him about it, and Ron and Hermione had both attended, giving them him the details. Yet that was over a month ago, a little late for Cho to be filling him in. He again wondered why Cho could possibly be writing him. And why was Cho writing to Hermione about him? Maybe she wanted to visit to confront him about the details of Cedric's death.

He squeezed his eyes tightly. Yes, that was it. Of all the people in Hogwarts, Cho would be the most interested in knowing what had happened last year. She probably wanted to confront him, ask him how he could have let Cedric die, scream at him for being so careless, berate him for his foolish pride. He looked at the scroll again rereading it, the question of why still burning inside of him.

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Why? 

Although he had always maintained a secret crush for Cho, loving her vibrant personality, her stunning looks, and her exceptional skill at Quidditch, she had never reciprocated. He had even had the courage to ask her to the Yule Ball only to discover she was going with Cedric. With even more pangs of guilt, he remembered how jealous he had felt. What he had wanted to do to Cedric…it was almost as if..his wishes had been answered.

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What could she possibly see in you Potter, you killed him after all. You killed the only love she ever had…

"No…I..I.." Harry paused, and shook his head violently. He couldn't let himself think that way, not now, especially not now. The question of why could wait, for Cho had said she was coming to visit him during the day, but she had not said when. The question could wait until she arrived. He sighed again this time longer than ever, getting into bed once more, although all notion of sleep had left him, and pondered the question of why. The most important thing it seemed, was to formulate an answer to her letter.

He got up again, careful not to make any noise, and walked over to his desk. An unused scroll and quill lay on top. He had been meaning to get started on his homework for some time, but the constant procrastination had obviously added up, as the huge stack of summer work lay undone on the right side of his small desk. He picked up his quill, smoothed out a scroll, and promptly realized he could not think of anything to say.

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Hi Cho, I'd be happy to have you here. Thanks for writing me. Bye.

Could he be any more insensitive by writing such a casual letter, pretending nothing had ever happened. Yet what was he supposed to do? Pour his heart out onto her?

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Cho..I've always loved you..even when you loved Cedric..thank you for the egg..please come over soon..I need to see you…

A faint smile lit up Harry's face. That was the mushiest, corniest, stupidest letter he had ever written, and it was only one sentence long. Perhaps when he graduated, he could strike up a job as a muse. Hear ye! Hear ye! Harry the magnificent regales the crowd with tales of heart-wrenching love! Crumpling the scroll into a ball, and tossing it over his shoulder, he smoothed out another piece, and started over.

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Cho,

__

I'm sorry I couldn't make it to Cedric's funeral. I usually have a hard enough time getting away when it's time to go to Hogwarts. Things have been quiet around here, I'll tell you about if you come over, how about, four days from now? My cousins will be gone. Be sure not to use floo powder or to apparate however, in fact, you might not want to do anything overly unusual to get here. My relatives are not very…taken to the magical arts.

I want to ..thank you for the egg. Cedric was a good friend of mine, and I'm certain he was very close to you as well. Again, I'm sorry I couldn't make it. Have a good summer.

Harry 

He looked it over carefully and was satisfied. In reality, it was not much different than a letter he would write to Hermione and Ron. Informal, friendly, and with a touch of reality in mentioning Cedric's death to her, and his apology for missing the funeral. He crept over to the mysterious owl, who was by now, pecking an unopened bag of owl treats, and grabbed the owl before it could finish it's job of tearing open his only remaining back of food for Hedwig. The owl seemed distinctly angry at the interruption, but silenced itself when Harry put his reply in it's claws. He smiled at the owl, who's mouth was bulging open with owl treats, and led it to the window before letting it go. Even after all that food, the owl flew with remarkable ease, disappearing in the night sky quickly.


	3. Cho Chang

Chapter 3

Cho Chang

Harry trundled down the stairs early in the morning only to discover with faint surprise and extreme distaste that the entire Dursley family had congregated around the table. As usual, no one paid him the least of attention, although Dudley could be seen, eyeing him with just a little fear in his eyes. Ever since Harry had told the Dursley's his godfather was a dangerous magical criminal, they had avoided him more than they usually did. Uncle Vernon's formidable dislike of magic and his constant avoidance of it however, hadn't protected Dudley from growing a pig tail from his rear when Hagrid had come to visit. It had cost the Dursley's a pretty penny to have it removed at a private hospital. And just last year George and Fred Weasley had blown up Dudley's tongue until it was rouhgly the size of one of Uncle Vernon's belts. 

Mr. and Mrs. Dursley were very careful to try to maintain a normal lifestyle, and that meant no magic, no wizards, and no mention of Hogwarts. Of course, if Harry wanted to talk to someone about his problems, he wouldn't have chosen any of the Dudleys. Aunt Petunia was a notorious neighborhood spy, relaying information about the distasteful mannerisms of her neighbors, while Uncle Vernon seemed to judge himself better than any of the men on the block simply because his car was bigger. 

However, neither of them looked happy today, and Dudley looked even unhappier. Perhaps it had to do with the rice cake that Dudley had just finished pounding into pieces, perhaps it had to do with Aunt Petunia begging Dudley to stick with fat camp, and perhaps it had to do with Uncle Vernon getting extremely impatient with all of them. Whatever it was Harry could see that today, was perhaps not the best day to ask for too much out of the Dursleys. He would have to ask them about Cho later.

Not that it would have made a difference. He had no doubt that the Dursleys would simply refuse, then block all the doors, and watch Harry like a hawk any opportunity they could get to ensure than none of his wizard friends came over. 

"Disgraceful…" 

Harry looked up to see Aunt Petunia again peering out of the window, looking at one of the neighbors again he supposed.

"It's just disgraceful how they do that isn't it..even if they are newlyweds. You'd think they'd have the decency to show their affection inside the house where it belongs."

Uncle Vernon snorted emphatically, stating his opinion of the matters.

Harry shrugged and before he could stop himself retorted "I think that's how married people are supposed to act.."

As if they synchronized their movements, all three of the Dursley's turned their heads toward him angrily. Harry immediately put on his familiar innocent expression. It was an expression that had gotten him out of trouble many times before. Feigning stupidity often made the Dursley's less suspicious of him. He was a little surprised at himself at the moment. It was not very often that he chose to express his opinion in the Dursley household, for whenever he did, he was usually ridiculed. Uncle Vernon snorted again. "What would you know about married people?"

"Like any girl would be interested in _him…_" Aunt Petunina scowled looking at Harry. Her expression changed to that of utmost devotion when she viewed Dudley. "But little Di-Di doesn't have any problems does he? The girls are just lining up to date him!"

Harry was barely able to keep in a sharp laugh and coughed to hide it. Even the girls at fat camp had been disgusted at Dudley who was easily bigger then all the boys and girls there put together. Dudley scowled at Harry, but was both too tired and hungry to retort back. 

"Tell us boy, how do you think married people should feel eh?" Uncle Vernon said, a superior smile crossing into his face.

Harry fought to control himself, hands tightening around the table. After all he had been through, he should have known better than to let the Dursley's comments get to him, but get to him they did. Uncle Vernon seemed to be able to pick up on this and smiled. "Well..you never can tell about those weirdos in that school you go to, I'd imagine they'd want to go with anyone even remotely normal. Even someone like you…"

Dudley exploded with laughed, vestiges of his rice cake flying from his mouth. Aunt Petunia was too busy scouring the neighborhood to take any notice, but Uncle Vernon was looking especially smug. Harry longed to take his wand and turn the entire lot of them into mice, and then letting Hedwig loose on them all. His eyes must have clouded over as his imagination took over for Uncle Vernon frowned a bit, bellowing "I asked you a question boy! Answer your superiors!"

Harry paused before formulating an answer "Well..I guess…er..they would be ..happy together..like you and Aunt Petunia. Er.. doesn't matter how you act really… as long as your happy together…" He stifled a grin as he continued, a thought coming to his mind "And..you wouldn't…hide things from each other..things like…going out…and maybe..disobeying rules and such..like..I don't know raiding the-"

"That's enough boy!" Uncle Vernon's eyes almost popped out of his head as his fat face reddened with anger. His eyes darted from Harry, to Aunt Petunia, not sure what to do next. Dudley who was slowly realizing what Harry was talking about, was looking very angrily at his father. "Well then..got to go to work..I'll be there to see you later Dudley, have fun at the camp.." 

Obviously, Uncle Vernon was looking for an easy escape before Aunt Petunia got suspicious. Shooting one last murderous look at Harry, he left the room quickly.

Aunt Petunia still self-absorbed at the window, shook her head "Disgraceful.." she repeated, before turning her back, and looking at Dudley. "All done little Di-Di? Now that's a good boy..time to go!"

Dudley seemed on the verge of an uproarious tantrum, and Harry backed away from the table, not wanting to be hit by any stray objects. The strain of having to go to fat camp seemed to have finally caught up to his cousin and he seemed to be committed to staying behind at home today. Aunt Petunia however, was not going to have any rebelliousness today. 

"Come along now, Di-Di..maybe we'll buy you a little ice cream before you go, just so you don't get too thin.." 

With that promise, Dudley smiled, his fat face contorting with the effort of moving. He trundled up from his side of the table, and started to follow his mother. Harry had wondered why after all this training, Dudley had seemed to not grow smaller, but even bigger than before. It seemed the answer was staring him in the face. Enticing Dudley with sweet treats to go to fat camp where he would dutifully do no work would obviously not help him at all.

Aunt Petunia shot a look at Harry "Don't get into any.._trouble_ now..the house better be exactly the same when we all come back" 

As the Dursley family left, Harry breathed a sigh of relief at the empty house again. Although Uncle Vernon had been lax to trust Harry at first to his empty house, he had agreed more readily when Harry had hinted that if Sirius could trust him, Uncle Vernon probably could too. So during the lazy afternoons, he was usually alone. The Dursleys left him with little food, no money, and expected him to stay home all day although they wouldn't have minded if he left and never came back. Harry wouldn't have minded either if had someplace to go.

He wondered if the Weasleys were going to invite him over again this summer. The Weasley's was Ron's family, and the only family besides Sirius that had cared for Harry. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had always been kind to him, especially when they looked upon his scar. Ron's brothers, Fred and George were always willing to make Harry laugh. And Ginny, Ron's little sister, …well..Ginny was an entirely different story. However, considering that both Ron and Hermione were still in Germany and would probably be staying there for the rest of the summer, he found it unlikely that he would be able to leave the Dursley's early this year, to their mutual displeasure.

As he looked around the empty house, he heard the distinctive sound of a car door slamming, and the screech of tires as the Dursley's left. They house became eerily silent, and Harry wished more than ever that his friends were here, or at least that he had somebody to talk to. He wondered for a moment if there were any letters he had not written. Any books he had not read.

When Harry had told Ron and Hermione about his situation of being locked in the house all day, they had obligingly sent him things to keep him preoccupied. Ron had sent him so many books on Quidditch that Harry was beginning to feel like an expert on all the teams. Hermione on the other hand, ever mindful of the fact that Harry was doing any homework, had simply sent him a list of things they were to have accomplished before returning to Hogwarts. Harry had been confounded when he realized that he had only finished his Care of Magical Creatures homework so far. It might have helped that Hagrid had actually excused him from doing any.

Sighing with resignation, Harry set up the stairs towards his room, prepared to do the rest of his homework. Doing hours of Potions homework was not something he was keen to do, but he might as well get it over with sometime. As he opened his door, and sat down on his desk again quill in hand, he began taking notes, beads of sweat already forming on his forehead, as the summer heat bore down on him. The Dursley's among other things were also notoriously cheap, and wouldn't give Harry a fan even if he were dying of heat stroke.

Images swam along his eyes, an eye of a newt, a strange scratching sound, the tail of a unicorn, the toes of a satyr, and that same strange scratching sound. Harry hesitated for a moment and listened. The house was quiet. 

"Probably just imagining things again.."

__

Probably not that healthy to talk to myself either. Continuing with his work now, he suddenly heard it again. This time, clear and unmistakable. A strange, scratching sound that was coming from his ceiling. He looked up now, but could see nothing that could possibly be making his noise. Frowning, and suddenly alert, he slowly crept toward the secret pantry where he kept his wand.

__

Scritch Scratch…

Opening it, Harry grabbed his wand, and pointed it, his hand shaking, towards the ceiling. 

__

Scritch Scratch…

He tensed now, hoping that it was just a bird..

Scritch Scratch…BOOM!

A loud explosion rocked the air, and Harry was temporarily knocked off his feet as his entire ceiling seemed to open before him. Dust fell in large quantities, and he was temporarily blinded. As he stumbled around, he felt something heavy hit him in the chest, and he fell to the ground in a jumble of legs, arms, and feet. Struggling around looking for his wand, he felt something distinctively different. Smooth and slender, he could have sworn, if he hadn't known better that it was …

"Cho!" Harry exclaimed, turning red as he let go of her leg, and tried to get out of the jumble of arms, and legs, and feet that he had now discovered to be Cho Chang. Although he couldn't see her face from his position, he could hear her gasp. The more he struggled, the more it got worse, until finally, he was suddenly staring into the face of Cho Chang, his arms intertwined with hers.

"I…I.." Harry blushed even more.

"Was trying to stand up..I was too…" Cho Chang replied, turning even redder than Harry was.

"Oh yeah I'm sorry about that I..…"

"Erm.."

Simultaneously, they both looked up at the gaping hole that had been Harry's ceiling. Sunlight poured down on the two, and an angry squirrel peered in, squeaking at them for disrupting its nap. Harry's mouth hanged open at the sight of this devastation, and he could just imagine the fit that Uncle Vernon would have unless he did something to fix it really quick. His vision blurry, he reached around to look for his glasses and his wand.

"_Repairo!" _Cho Chang's wand leapt to her hand, and a thin yellow beam shot out. In moments, the devastation was cleared, the ceiling was back to normal, and Harry, was still holding onto Cho. He didn't seem to realize it, he was much more relived at Cho's expert spell-casting.

"Harry..not that I mind, but..if you could..let go, I would have a much easier time untangling myself from your legs.."

"Oh..I er..sorry…"

Cho Chang grinned slightly, still crimson, as they finally succeeded in disentangling themselves from each other. Her extraordinary beauty again struck Harry as he looked her over. Looking much less worse off than he was, her hair was tangled into cute locks all over her head, as she struggled with her hands to part the strands covering her head. She was wearing a low-cut robe, and seemed to be enjoying watching Harry squirm.

"Nice..spell…what was it?" Harry finally gasped out.

"Oh erm.." Cho blushed suddenly, no longer looking Harry in the eyes as she backed away. "It erm..wasn't anything..I.."

Harry grinned, suddenly realizing what Cho had done.

Cho continued to avoid eye contact with Harry, blushing even redder than before, when she noticed Harry's knowing look, she stuttered "I..I..didn't..know..how to get in, after you told me not to use floo powder, and I don't know how to apparate yet..so I just.."

"Blew the roof off.." Harry finished, still grinning.

"Well..yeah..I wouldn't have done it if it was easier to see you!" Cho suddenly said, her eyes filled with something not unlike bemusement. "The great Harry Potter ..I wonder how many wards protect this place."

"Not enough it seems.." Harry teased, still unable to stop smiling at Cho.

"Promise me one thing Potter.." Cho said leaning in close, in an almost conspiratorial whisper.

Harry almost backed away in surprise, his heart beating. He had harbored strong secret feelings toward Cho for a long time, and although they had exchanged pleasantries, they had never really talked. He wondered what she was going to say. How he was going to react. A dozen questions and answers raced through his mind like seekers on firebolts, and his eyes widened in anticipation. 

"Wh..what..?"

"Next time don't grab my leg.." Cho finished with a flourish, she made her face a mask of consternation, shaking her head sadly at Harry. "You have so much to learn Potter, about the correct way to treat girls." She sighed even more sadly, as if the fate that awaited Harry couldn't possibly be any worse. "I mean..if you wanted to touch Potter, you could have asked."

"Wh..what?!" Harry started indignantly.

"Please..just ask next time Potter." Cho said, deliberately emphasizing Potter. Her eyes swept around the room, taking in the mess that Harry had been about to clean up. He had obviously, not expected her. His pantry, was half-open with all his Hogwarts gear, and she could see his Quidditch uniform, neatly laid near the bottom. She smiled somewhat remembering their first match, before looking back at Harry. "Um..Harry..your probably wondering why I'm here…" Her smile fell a little as she looked carefully at him.

Harry was still searching for words to express himself, however, he wasn't so busy that he would fail to notice the expression that was now appearing on Cho's face. He nodded his head.

"I know Cho.."

"You..know?"

"Yes..I do.."

There was a rather long pause between the two. Thoughts raced across Harry's mind. _She wants me to begin. More fitting that way, since I was the last to see him go_. As he stared at her, her smile slowly waned into a small grin, but he could see it was forced. Sadness was clouding her cheerful disposition, and although he knew that the long months of summer had been healing for her. However those long months could not have healed all her emotional scars completely.

One of the reasons Cho was so popular at school was because she was constantly cheerful and nice to everyone. The way she teased Harry about grabbing her was testament to that fact. However, even Harry could see that a profound change had taken place inside Cho's heart, and that the only person not to realize it, might be her. For all her teasing, and joking, she was hurting inside, more than she would admit to herself.

"To talk about Cedric..right?" Harry began tentatively.

Cho opened her mouth but no sounds came out, her grin completely disappeared, as a wave of sadness swept over her face. She seemed to crumple before him, the vibrant, energetic girl he had grown to love disappearing to reveal the forlorn, lost figure, one who had temporarily withdrawn into himself. She clutched his hand suddenly, and pulled him down onto the floor besides her.

"I..I..don't…want..to..drudge up painful memories for you if you don't want Harry.." Cho began hesitatingly. "When I saw you at the end of the tournament, looking as if you had almost died..I..well..and then I saw Cedric and I…"

With startling clarity, Harry remembered a long, pierced scream that had filled the air many months before. He looked with sudden recognition at Cho, her demeanor completely changed. Tears filling her eyes, she looked at Harry "I..I..just didn't know what to do..I..couldn't help…I was so helpless….I just watched them carry him away..I…oh..this is silly…"

Feeling more awkward than he had ever felt before, Harry looked as tears caressed the face of Cho. She tried to fight them back, but it was obvious that she had been fighting them back for so long. Why she chose to let them out here, was something he would never understand. Although he had certain empathy for people, and he was no Slytherin, he had never been presented with a situation like this before. He opened his mouth, not knowing what to say, his entire being, aching with the sadness that Cho was experiencing. 

"Please don't cry Cho…" Harry began, just Cho put her arms around him, and sobbed into the side of his shirt. "It's ok..it wasn't your fault..if anything, it was mine.." Harry began bitterly. "Oh yes, Harry Potter, Defeater of You-Know-Who, all around nice guy, and murderer. Wouldn't that look good on a plaque?" The words spilled out like they never did before. He didn't know what it was about Cho, perhaps it was because she had come to share his sorrow over Cedric with him, but he wanted to share things with her. He wanted to be with her as long as possible. Most of all, he wanted to wipe the pain from her very soul if he could.

Cho looked up at him, her mouth open in surprise. "Harry..I..didn't know..I mean.." She wiped her eyes with her robe, water stains appearing on the once clean fabric. "Mr. Diggory wouldn't tell me any details, he just wanted me to know that Cedric had died heroically, the way he had lived. And then I asked Dumbledore, and he just shook his head sadly, and told me he didn't really know the whole story. I didn't know who else to ask, Harry. And then Hermione told me that you were all alone in the summer, so I'd thought I'd come over and…"

Trailing off she looked deep into Harry's eyes, and he felt his hearts contort into throes of guilt. He shivered a bit. _You like this don't you. Fancy Cedric looking in on this. Fancy him seeing you two together, and fancy him seeing you with his girl. It hasn't even been that long yet Harry. Didn't wait very long did you Potter? It's almost as if you wanted to Cedric to die. You love her don't you Potter. But she doesn't love you, she loves Cedric. That's why she came. Not to talk to you Potter, but you don't care. You didn't even like Cedric…you don't even deserve Cho._

"Harry?" 

Harry looked at Cho with a start, and avoided her eyes, moving slowly away from her. He glanced at Cho, his entire body aching before starting once more. "I..Cedric he…I..it was..very sudden." _Very sudden. Wow, your really good at comforting people aren't you Potter. Yes, it was very sudden. I, Harry Potter, watched Cedric die, and now, I'm going to go after the one person who cared for him. Just because I'm Harry Potter of course, I can do no wrong._

"It was..very sudden. We were at the end of the maze, and Cedric saved me from a giant spider. He stunned it the same time I did, and it fell on me. He wouldn't..he wouldn't take the cup. He said it was rightfully mine. I was so selfish..the only thing I could think about was the adoration of everyone when they saw me holding the cup..I..so..I…"

Cho looked at Harry, who's eyes were downcast, and had moved a considerable distance away from her. She tried to smile encouragingly at him, but couldn't, her eyes brim with tears as she thought about Cedric. Cedric asking her to the Yule-Ball, Cedric rescuing her from the bottom of the lake during one of the tasks, Cedric lying near Harry, not a mark on him, eyes glazed over. It hurt her more than anything she had ever felt before, and yet, there was something about the way that Harry was telling the story that didn't seem right to her.

"So I took the cup angrily, and and pushed it into his hands screaming "Take it!" I couldn't think, I was so angry at his nobility, I was so jealous…and then as it whisked us away, I realized it was a Port Key. At first, we thought it was one final task. So we brought our wands out, and I let Cedric go first…I..was..scared..I .." He paused. "When Cedric saw the Death Eater coming for me, he shielded me from the Death Curse, saving me from death. I ran…there was no heroics in my actions, I just followed my instincts and I ran..I picked up Cedric, ran to the port key…ran as fast as I could.."

Cho looked at Harry, an horrified expression on her face. She felt sudden surges of anger, and she wanted to scream at him. Shake him and ask him how he could have done it. He _had_ killed Cedric. He…suspicions rose in her eyes as she looked at Harry, who still would not look her in the eyes. Her quick mind finally deduced all the holes in his story. How was any of this related to the fact that Lord Voldermort had arisen again if Harry had just run away. And what about what Dumbledore had said at the end of the year. How Harry's bravery was reminiscent of any of the witches and wizards who had faced Voldermort before.

Obviously, he didn't want to tell her the truth. Perhaps he was protecting her from details that he thought would hurt her more. Or perhaps he was merely being stubborn. Cho had a sudden image of her forcing a truth potion down Harry's throat. Or perhaps…she looked at him again, watching his hands twitter nervously. Perhaps it was because he felt the same way that she did...

It was no secret among Hogwarts, that Harry had a crush on her. Harry's daily activities were reported by all the students on a regular basis, although most of it was unknown to him. And she had harbored secret feelings for him until she had met Cedric. They had been so right together, yet towards the end of their relationship, Cho had known that they could only be friends. She just didn't feel the way she knew she should feel if she was really in love. She had intended to let him down easy, but that opportunity had been taken abruptly from her when the Death Eaters had killed him. 

What hurt her the most was that when she had found out, she had cared more about Harry than Cedric, as cold and heartless as it seemed. When she had found out that Cedric had died, she hid his feelings from Harry abruptly The guilt that she had felt over Cedric was overwhelming her. How could she care more about Harry when Cedric cared so much for her? He had tried to talk to her near the end of the year, but she had turned him away. Now she knew the moment she had been dreading was nearing.

"Harry..your not telling me the truth are you…"

Harry's mouth fell open and he met her eyes, struggling to make a sound.

"Your hiding something from me…"

He just kept looking at her, and she could see a small trace of moisture appearing in his eyes.

"HHHHHHHHAAAAARRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYY!"

Harry turned, and Cho could see surprise and sudden fear in his eyes. He glanced at Cho, up at the repaired ceiling, and then at the dust all around his room. "You've..you've got to _hide!"_ He said urgently. He looked all around his room, and then started pushing Cho towards his closet abruptly.

"Harry if you think I'm going to…"

With one final shove, he succeeded in getting most of Cho inside, and then closed it abruptly. His mind raced as he heard the heavy footsteps that could only mean Uncle Vernon was coming up. Probably angry at the tone of his voice when he had called Harry. He raced towards his door, and grabbed the door handle just as Uncle Vernon did the same thing from the other side.

"What the big idea boy?!" The voice roared from the other side.

"I'm..I'm cleaning.." Harry replied lamely.

"I don't care if your cleaning or not!? Let me in! Now practicing any of that _magic_ are you?" Uncle Vernon spit out the word with venom.

"No..of course not.." Harry soon realized it was going to be a losing battle. Uncle Vernon was almost four times his size, and sure enough, the door knob was slowly turning, and the door opened with a crash. Harry fell, for perhaps the third time this day, and stared up at his very red-faced, angry looking Uncle.

"Thought you'd get away from it did you boy?!"

"Um…" Harry had to think for a moment. Besides almost mentioning that Uncle Vernon had been raiding the fridge during the night, he couldn't think of anything that would have mad his Uncle this angry. "Er…no, quite right, I didn't think I would."

"NOT so NOCHALANT now are you boy?! Not so superior! Even your godfather can't save you! Now where are they?!" Uncle Vernon's eyes seemed to bulge out of his head as he shook his fist.

"Where…what?"

"Don't play INNOCENT with me, boy?! That kind of thing won't work on me! You think the neighbors didn't see the roof open up?! Thought it was rather queer when it just closed again! Where is your stuff! Your not to have it until.. you.. you…" He sputtered out the next words with intense venom. "You go to that _school_ of yours again. Give it to me!"

Harry's heart sank. He should have realized Cho's dramatic entrance could not have been unnoticed. He had kept the Dursley's from taking the gear that he had from Hogwarts away for a some time now, simply by threatening that Sirius might drop by at any moment to pay him a visit. However, it seemed unlikely the same threat would work now. Uncle Vernon had reached the end of his short fuse, and making him even more furious by refusing, might have serious consequences.

"Er..right.." Harry looked around for a moment, wondering if a few scrolls and textbooks would be enough to appease Uncle Vernon. He started rummaging around for the textbooks that he didn't want anymore, just as Cho coughed.

An deadly silence filled the air for a moment as Uncle Vernon turned his head towards the closet.

"What..was…_that?_"

"Just my owl…it's flu season…" 

Uncle Vernon wasn't about to buy that excuse however, he stalked right towards Harry's closet, and without thinking, Harry blocked his way. His small size dwarfed by the much larger size of the rampaging relative.

"You don't want to do that!…" Harry said very quickly. "There's..erm..some powerful magic there. Been practicing you see…opening that closet could turn you right into a toad.."

Uncle Vernon backed away horrified, before his eyes squinted suspiciously. "Thought you weren't _allowed_ to practice magic yet. _Underage_, weren't you?" A smile devoid of any humor split his face. "Got something in there don't you Potter." He almost spit out Harry's name. "Something that probably blew my roof..don't want me to have it do you, boy."

Before Harry could react, Cho stormed right out of the closet and glared at Uncle Vernon, her wand brandished before him. Her eyes were narrowed with intense dislike, anger radiating from her like a fiery storm, she cried out "_Is that how you treat Harry?!"_

Uncle Vernon backed away, and Harry couldn't tell what he was afraid of more. Cho's sudden appearance or the wand she was pointing right at him. Before he could stop her, Cho began her tirade.

"_Of ALL _the insensitive, uncaring, cruel, and insipid people I have ever known, you have got to be the worst. I mean, we all know that Harry's mistreated during the summer, but _this_…" She shook with anger, and Harry couldn't help but notice that she looked rather cute when she was that red. "_This_ takes the cake!"

Uncle Vernon was still backing away, faced with a confusing dilemma. Here was Harry's savior, someone who he could detest and hate without feeling guilty, yet she had a wand. And knowing Harry, she would be one of them, _witches_. Making her mad…well, he had seen what had happened to Dudley when he had made Hagrid angry.

"Don't you have anything to say?!"

"It's..ok, Cho. Your really just making it worse, it's been like this for a long time. The best thing to do is just to give him my stuff until the term starts, and it starts pretty soon doesn't it." Harry suddenly interjected, attempting to defuse the situation.

"No it's _not_ ok Harry. Ho..how they could be so _cruel_ to you after what you've been with, after..well…after knowing what your like.." At this she flushed a bit "Is..is..so stupid!" She clarified this with an emphatic stamp of her foot.

"Now see here young lady.." Uncle Vernon bellowed, gaining back a bit of his courage.

_"Polymorphius!_" Cho cried, before Uncle Vernon could even finished. Before Harry's horrified, and somewhat delighted eyes, Uncle Vernon became a thick shade of green. Without a tremendous whoosh, he was shrinking, and shrinking. His eyes were bulging out before, until, standing in a pile of clothes, giving an indignant ribbit, was a large, green, toad.

"Oh..that's..that's not…" Harry began..

"Come on Harry! Your staying with me, and I don't care what you say. Get your stuff."

"But I.."

"Go!"

Harry burst into action, emptying his pantry of all its things, and pushing them into his large trunk. Looking at Cho, who was looking as if turning Uncle Vernon into a toad was only the first thing she was planning to do, he grabbed her arm. "Come on, Cho…"

Casting one last angry look at the toad, Cho grabbed Harry's arms forcibly, and almost tossed him on his Firebolt. Raising her wand, she blew the top of Harry's roof again, creating a pathway, as she climbed on behind him.

Harry knew that he would get into immense trouble for this. Underage wizards weren't supposed to practice magic, and Dumbledore had told him to stay at the Dursley's until he called for him during the school term. He feared more about what Dumbledore might do to Cho, who had broken quite a few rules just now. But before he could ponder these questions, Cho suddenly pushed up with all her might, and the both of them soared into sky, a startled Hedwig flying behind them.

__


	4. Latrinval

Chapter 4

Latrinval

Conscious of the fact that Cho's arms were around him, and that she was laughing with exhilaration, Harry couldn't help but smile, although inside he was seriously worried. Two times before, he had been accused of using magic at the Dursleys where he was forbidden by law to do so, and had almost been expelled. He was worried about what might happen to Cho, who had just not only made his roof explode, but turned his Uncle into a toad. Slowly however, his worries seeped away and he could not help but enjoy the flight. He had spent far too long cooped up at the Dursleys, and this breadth of freedom revived him.

"Er..Cho?"

"Yes Harry?"

"Where exactly…are we going?"

"Oh!" Harry heard a faint giggle behind him. "Oh yes, I forgot to tell you..here let me steer."

Conscious of the fact that they were literally hundreds of miles above the ground, Harry must have blanched pale white for he could hear Cho laughing behind him. How exactly was she going to steer if he was still in front? 

"_Trust_ me…"

Taking a tremendous leap of faith, he let go of the broomstick and closed his eyes tightly. Cho swung about, and grabbed the forward end of the broomstick from him and without warning started a tremendous plunge towards the Earth. Not unlike how Harry would act if he had spotted a golden snitch in Quidditch, she steered the broomstick into a free fall at appalling speeds. 

Harry gave a little yelp as images of the previous summer's World Quidditch Cup came to his mind. He could remember seeing Krum diving down towards the Earth, Ireland's seeker close behind. What it had been called, the Wronski Feint? All he remembered now was that Krum had pulled up just in time, while Ireland's seeker had slammed painfully into the ground. Images of him and Cho experiencing the same fate came to his mind, and he looked frantically backwards.

"Cho!..you can..go slower y'know.."

He could barely hear her reply through the whipping wind all around his ears, although he thought her laugh in gaiety. Petrified as he was, he couldn't help but be impressed with Cho's bravery, and her expert handling of the broomstick. These feelings didn't help him much however, as the endless puffs of clouds finally parted before them, and Harry could see that they were headed straight for a tree.

"Choooooooo we're going to crashhhhhhhhh!"

Another nervous laugh resounded behind him, and Harry hung on for dear life. _I'm not going to die. I'm not going to die. I'm going to live. Be positive Potter._ It was getting more and more difficult to be positive however, as the tree got closer, and closer, and closer. _Ohmigod, this is going to be worse than when I crashed into the Whomping Willow. _He suddenly stared at the tree in horror. O_hmigod I hope that tree doesn't fight back._ _Although I'm sure Madam Pomfrey could re-grow anything I broke…_

Madam Pomfrey was a talented school nurse who worked at Hogwarts. She had once re-grown all the bones in Harry's hand, and Harry had learned to trust her medical expertise ever since. Just as he was beginning to see death in his eyes, Cho spun the Firebolt around again. Losing his balance, Harry was thrown rather awkwardly to the ground still clutching Cho who had fallen with him. The fact that they were again holding each other did not seem to embarrass Harry anymore. He stared at the ground, never seeing anything quite so beautiful in his life before, and Cho was more than a little amused when he started hugging great bunches of grass.

"I knew you couldn't _keep_ up with me flyboy, probably haven't even been on your broomstick all summer have you?" 

Harry was much too relieved to be able to think up a quick retort, but even Cho could see the red of indignation mounting on his cheeks. He spun around angrily, and pointed his up at her finger accusingly, his entire body shaking. "We..we could have been killed!"

She just gave him a rather lopsided grin, and then knelt besides him. "Oh come on Harry…" Her voice softened a little and her eyes filled with concern as Harry seemed to be still shaking with genuine hostility. "Please don't be mad..I was just …"

"Showing off!" His voice rose rather high as he was provoked, and he continued glowering at her, his eyes flashing. Cho was suddenly filled with remorse, as she quickly took his hand in her own. She hadn't meant to scare him, Cho had thought that as a seeker, Harry wouldn't have been so easily frightened. She looked into his face worry etched on her brows, before noticing something rather suspicious about the way Harry was acting. He seemed to be having a rather hard time breathing, and his face was quite red, not from fear, but from….

Cho abruptly pushed him back onto the ground just as he erupted into laughter. This time it was Cho who was glaring at Harry. Normally, any astute Ravenclaw could have picked up on Harry's acting, for Harry was not a talented actor by any means. However, there was something about Harry that made her hang on his every word. She scowled at him furiously, making a motion with her robes as if she was brushing off tears.

"How _can_ you be so insensitive?!" 

Harry's happy laughter suddenly dropped several octaves lower, and he coughed a bit uncertainly. Hiding her grin as she continued to wipe at her eyes with her robes, she shook with exaggerated sadness. "After all I did for you…how could you be so..so…" She struggled for the right word, all the while containing her laughter.

"Cho..I…." Harry began still confused.

"So… _vile_…" Cho continued, her voice breaking. Luckily for her, Harry merely took this as another sign of impending tears. "After all I did!"

"Cho..I..really could _never_ thank you enough. The Dursleys are so beastly, and the way you stood up to them….I mean..."

"_Chooo..I could neeeeverrrr thank you…"_ Cho repeated in a sing-song falsetto. "Except by hurting you of course. Oh, the great Harry Potter….so righteous, so brave, so …so…" She continued shaking, although she was finding it increasingly hard to hold in her laughter.

Harry seemed mortified that his little joke could have hurt Cho this bad. Desperately wondering how it had all gone so wrong, he didn't notice that Cho was merely doing the same thing Harry had been doing earlier, acting. He awkwardly took her hand and squeezed it gently. "Cho..I mean it..I could never tha-"

He never even finished his sentence for Cho had started guffawing loudly, interrupting him. His face turned beet red when he realized she was not in fact, crying, but laughing at him. Furious at himself, he pushed her away from him, scrambled up, and pinned her.

Her eyes twinkled up at him in bemusement, but Harry's heart had stopped beating. Time seemed to move unusually slowly. His glasses had fallen somewhere in the grass but he didn't notice. All he could see at the moment were Cho's lips. How he longed to brush his own against them. He stared into her brown eyes, his devotion to her overriding his basic instincts. He moved closer, knowing that he would regret it if he kissed her. But he couldn't bring himself to stop.

Cho looked up at him, eyes still twinkling with laughter. She let him pin her, playfully looking up at him. Blushing a bit, she noticed how intently she was looking at him. Her lips trembled as he moved closer and closer to her. _Would he do it? How would she feel about it? Would she regret it? What about Cedric? Was Harry thinking the exact same thi-_

"Cho! Vouz scared me very much you silly leetle girl!" Cho cringed just as she heard her roommate's strident voice coming from up the hill. She glanced up with exasperation as Harry turned away from her and got up abruptly. _Kiss me!_ She wanted to scream at him.

"Oh..and..'Arry..oh my..I..eez this is bad time?"

Harry was rummaging through the grass for his glasses as Cho sat up, and picked them up for him. Very gently, she put them on for him, and for the first time, he could see just how red Cho had become. His own cheeks were burning, and he turned quickly away, and looked, to his surprise, right at Fleur Delacour's worried face.

"Oh I…" Harry began.

"Er..we were.." Cho continued.

"Flying…"

"And…er…a bird..yes a bird hit us…"

"Oh yes..a big white one..it was horrendous Fleur…you should have heard Harry screaming."

Harry was now glaring at Cho who was again hiding a smile. "Oh but _Cho_ had the presence of mind to free-fall on the broomstick."

"Because Harry fell, of course…I was trying to catch him…you really _should_ have heard him screaming.."

"'Arry? Cho?" Fleur tried to interject.

"Not that it would have made any difference, you couldn't catch anything with the way you fly."

"I caught you didn't I?"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"'Arry?! Cho?!" Fleur started waving her arms frantically.

"Oh I'm sure you're just _so_ impressive on your little Firebolt, flyboy. The girls must love you."

"At least…at least.." Harry sputtered unable to think of anything.

"'Arry?! Cho?!" 

"What?!" They both turned shouting at Fleur, Cho still nursing her secret smile, while Harry seemed to be genuinely raging.

"Your trunk..ees falling."

Harry looked up just as a shadow fell on his face. He had forgotten all about Hedwig. Their furious dive down must have exhausted her when she had tried to follow. He could see her now, flapping her wings frantically, barely able to keep the trunk upright. He shielded his face with his arms as fast as he could, just as Hedwig uncermoniously dropped the heavy container onto his head.

Cho and Fleur both watched, as Harry Potter, Quidditch and School Champion, defeater of _He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named_ fell again to the ground, for perhaps the fourth time this very day. Trunk firmly implanted on his chest, Harry seemed to be having some trouble breathing, and was turning a deep shade of blue. Waving his arms frantically, he gestured toward Cho and Fleur, who immediately ran towards him. With all three of them pushing and pulling, they finally got the chest off him.

"Tha…thanks…" Harry gasped, still struggling for air.

"Don't mention it." Cho replied, her smile only becoming wider as Harry glared at her. It didn't last too long for he couldn't help but smile after all that had happened to him in the past few hours. They looked into each other's eyes, and Cho could feel herself getting lost in his, her smile waning a bit as they continued to stare at each other. Fleur looked at Cho, and then at Harry sensing that this was a private moment. She coughed to get their attention.

Startled, Cho and Harry both reluctantly looked at her.

"Well..maybez wee should take 'Arry home? Before zee Muggles come?" 

"Oh right!" Cho grinned, suddenly grabbing Harry's arm. "Come on! Your going to love it at Latrinval Harry, it's so…beautiful." Harry didn't resist as Cho pulled him along. Fleur followed closely behind them more than a little suspicious that there was something going on between Cho and Harry that they both wouldn't admit. As they walked around the empty field, Harry's face became blanker and more confused.

"I thought you said you were living with your roommate.."

"Zhe is. I'm am her new roommate. My sister an' I are transferring to 'Ogwarts."

Harry thought back to how Fleur had been complaining about Hogwarts the year before. During the Yule Ball, she had seemed especially rude about how she felt about the school's decorations, it's food, even it's students. What could have possibly changed her mind? Fleur seemed to be able to read his mind.

"Zee…headmaster…Dimmydore?" 

"Dumbledore." Cho corrected chuckling.

"Sorree …Dumbeedore waz impressed with how I handled the tasks." She beamed with pride and Harry smiled at her. She had handled them very well. Probably better than he had, considering he had a lot more help than she did. "He offered mee a position at Hogwartz…I graduated you zee…" Harry had forgotten how much younger he had been than all the other school champions, it had never occurred to him that Fleur was going to Hogwarts for a job. "I will be teaching historee." Fleur finished proudly, her silver hair flashing in the sun.

"Finally, maybe I won't fall asleep in that class anymore…" Cho said grinning, and Harry nodded, sharing her distaste for Professor Binns, who was quite the bore. They continued walking, and stopped near a white fence.

"Zwell…here we are." 

Harry stood there, more confused than ever. The only thing around them was a desolate, empty field, devoid of any sign of civilization. He was more used to wizards congregating in crowded areas like London, and he thought back fondly to Hogsmeade. Letting go of Harry's arm, Cho knelt carefully near the fence, and pressed her palm onto one of the wooden slates.

To Harry's great surprise, a hole opened up where he was standing, and before he knew it, he was sliding down what seemed to be a large tunnel. Cho and Fleur were right beside him the long, tumultuous slide bringing them deep underground. Cho almost seemed to be gliding, and Harry couldn't help that she looked graceful even under these conditions. Fleur however did not seem to be enjoying herself. Her face had turned pale white and she looked rather sick.

Harry gasped as the slide opened up to reveal literally thousands of buildings the like of which he had never seen before. There were round ones, which resembled giant beach balls. There were ones that were shaped to resemble wands. There were ordinary stone ones, and midnight black structures. There were castles that dwarfed Hogwarts in size, and palaces that would have made Uncle Vernon green with envy. In the air, witches and wizards were flying about in the air, hurrying along to unknown tasks. But what was most noticeable to Harry was how bright everything was. It seemed that everywhere he looked, bright, multi-colored beams of magical lights were sweeping about illuminating things at random. As Harry gaped at this large, underground city, while Cho smiled at him.

"Welcome to Latrinval, the City of Light. And my home coincidentally." Cho said, grabbing Harry's arm again and pulling him along. "Come on…."

Fleur emerged behind them, having somewhat recovered from the slide. "Zee ride..always makes mee sick.." She said, smiling weakly at them both.

But Harry did not seem to notice. A wizard city! _Wizards_ had cities? Of course they would, Harry thought berating himself. Things like that shouldn't surprise him anymore. Everywhere he looked, there were wizards and witches of all shapes and sizes. Nothing he had seen before in the Magical World had been quite this…crowded. A purple light swept downward accentuating streets packed with shops. Potion ingredients, wands, broomsticks, spell books, and anything else Harry could have possibly imagined were all there. Signs in languages he had never learned were lit up in neon, and every now and then a whoosh could be heard as large griffons and packs of owls soared overhead.

"Gilderoy Lockhart's latest novel, _Magical Mental Institutions and Me!_ Get it here first!"

"Excuse me sir, would you like to buy a nice suit of armor?"

"You young lady look like you could use a nice love potion." (Fleur blushed at this.)

"Get your Exploding Eye Powder here! Limit one per customer!"

Harry hardly seemed to notice that Cho was carefully steering him away from the crowd and towards a modest building on one of the city's many streets. It seemed to be made out of colorfully, stained glass. She opened the door carefully, and almost had to drag Harry in with her. "I'll give you a tour later..you look exhausted and need to get some rest, I'll make you a..."

Harry walked into Cho's home only to be greeted by two figures. The first, he recognized as a very perturbed looking Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic. Standing right next to him, wearing a serious expression, was none other than Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts. His heart sank as he stared at Fudge's angry stares at Cho, and his stomach sank as it dawned on him why the two of them were there.

"Finally…" Cornelius Fudge said, looking down at Harry and Cho. "And just _what_ have you been doing? Do you know the trouble you've caused. It's all over the papers, it is!" Holding up a copy of the Wizards Weekly, Harry could make out the headline._ Harry Potter Escapes Muggles With Secret Love._ "And _you_ young lady are not allowed to use magic under any circumstances during the summer vacation unless it's an emergency…as _you well know!_"

"But-" Cho tried to explain.

"Was it an emergency?!" Fudge almost yelled, his arms waving in the air. Harry had never seen Fudge so worried or out of his element as now. Usually, the jovial Minister of Magic was very kind to everyone he met. He was good at what he did, if a little narrow-minded. The rise of Lord Voldemort, which Fudge had refused to believe, finally seemed to have taken its toll on the man. "You could have all been killed! There _is_ a reason we wanted Harry to stay with his aunt and uncle. And now with You-Know-Who _rumored _to be on the prowl again we can't have underage wizard and witches blowing roofs off houses!" He finished furiously.

Dumbledore put his hand softly on Fudge's shoulder, which seemed to have a calming effect on him. "Why don't you let me handle this Cornelius…" As Fudge finally turned away, furiously shooting looks at Harry and Cho, Dumbledore looked at them both, eyes twinkling. "Why don't you tell me exactly what happened."

Before Harry could stop her, Cho related the events of the past few hours to him in a calm if somewhat angry voice. As Dumbledore nodded appropriately at certain points in her story, his mustache twitching. "So you see Headmaster, I _had_ to let Harry stay with me for the rest of the summer. His uncle was just so beastly! He would have taken all of Harry's stuff away, he might not have even let Harry _come_ to Hogwarts. You understand don't you?"

"One more thing if you please, Mrs. Chang.." Dumbledore began. "What exactly _were_ you doing at Harry's house anyway?"

Harry hadn't thought it possible that Cho could have turned any redder than he had seen her before. She faltered, not knowing what to say. "Um…she wanted to ask me, Sir. About..Cedric…" Harry replied tentatively. 

"Ah…you were very close to Mr. Diggory if I remember correctly.." Dumbledore finally said after a pause, looking sympathetically at Cho. "Yes..well, be that as it may. Underage wizards _aren't_ supposed to practice magic in the Muggle World. Ministry agents have already been sent to your neighborhood Harry, and are changing the memories of those who saw Mrs. Chang.." He paused as Cho continued to blush. "For lack of a better word, blow your roof off. They are also attempting to turn your Uncle back into what he was…I must warn you however, with Lord Voldermort's rise, you would have been much safer there." Harry noticed how Fudge, Cho, and even Fleur winced at sound of Voldermort's name.

Cornelius Fudge shot Harry a concerned look. "You see Harry..your muggle relatives…_dislike_ magic…" Harry didn't think dislike described quite how the Dursley's felt about anything out of the ordinary. "This dislike has made it unusually difficult to cast magic at your home, as Mrs. Chang might have noticed. Dumbledore here has put up powerful wards that make the Dark Arts almost impossible to practice at your home…" 

"However, since you insisted on leaving with Mrs. Chang, I must insist that you stay here with her until the start of the term. Latrinval is a city full of wizards, it is unlikely that you will be in any danger. You must not however, wander off by yourself. Fleur, I'm entrusting you to take care of them both." Dumbledore looked at Fleur, who had stayed silent through most of the talks. "If there is nothing else, I'll see you all in a few weeks."

"Surely Dumbledore, there should be _some_ punishment! She..she..blew a roof apart for Merlin's sake." Fudge sputtered indignantly. 

"Come Cornelius, we have more important things to worry about right now. I haven't been in Latrinval for quite some time. I'm looking forward to seeing it's sights."

"Too much hustle and bustle if you ask me.."

With that, the two men walked out, although Fudge seemed very reluctant to go. Cho looked very relieved as they left, and sank onto her knees, tears coming to her eyes. "Oh Harry…I'm sorry, I didn't want to get you in trouble.."

"Cho…I.." Harry got down besides her and ran a hand through her hair. Relishing how soft it felt. Feeling as if a dozen quaffles were in his stomach, he leaned close to her. "Don't cry Cho…it's not your fault…it's mine. If I hadn't hid you in the closet.." Cho smiled sadly at him. She always had trouble breathing when he was that close to her. She paused as he ran his hand through her hair again, looking deeply into Harry's eyes. Oh..what she would give if she could only admit his feelings towards him. Why did she feel so nervous when he was around her?

"Hmph! If zee two of you are going to sit there all day, I'm going out!" Fleur scowled, her eyes flashing at them both. Tossing her silver hair casually back she shook her head. "Imagine you Cho, having zee nerve to do tvhat! Your crazy! Jus because I'm your friend, don't expect to pull something like that in my class!" Placing her hands on her hips, she left them both, her slender form disappearing into another room, still muttering about the trouble the two of them could have gotten into.

****


	5. Tenpin Bowling

****

Chapter 5

Tenpin Bowling

__

"Didn't wait that long, did you Potter? Of course, I didn't think you would."

Harry looked up, as the accusing voice rang all around him. "I..I don't know what your talking about." He said furtively. "Wait for what?"

"Just got rid of him, and now your getting ready to take over aren't you. I would expect something like that from Lord Voldermort but the famous Harry Potter..quite a surprise if you ask me. Of course, you were never above taking things from other people now were you?"

"What? I.." Harry looked around in the darkness, searching for the voice that was haunting him. "I don't know what your talking about!"

"You don't? I suspect it was just a coincidence then, that you made Cedric Diggory take the trophy with him. He was perfectly fine with you taking it by yourself. But you had to be so noble didn't you Potter? You had to get him killed…"

"That..that wasn't my fault!" Harry almost screamed.

"Now tell me Potter…you can't really believe that. Cedric wouldn't have died if it wasn't for you. And how do you repay his memories? You didn't even go to his funeral. All your doing now is dreaming of his girlfriend….if I didn't know better Potter, I would have sworn you killed him yourself."

"I..Cho has nothing to do with this!" Unable to get away from the voice that seemed to stretch everywhere, Harry began running.

"Well look at Potter..always running from something aren't you Potter. First, you run from Lord Voldermort. Than you run from the Dursleys. Than you run away from Cedric. And now you run away from Cho. Cowardly little Potter running away from Cedric after you killed him."

Horrified, Harry put his hands over his ears "I didn't do it! It wasn't my fault!" Sobbing from the guilt that was overwhelming him. "Yes, I did feel jealous! But I didn't do it on purpose."

"Admit it Potter! You just couldn't take Cedric could you? Here you thought you were the most famous and popular person at Hogwarts, but then Cedric came along didn't he? Popular, handsome Cedric, the secret crush of all the girls…plus..he had Cho didn't he…you just couldn't get over that fact could you Potter? And now that he's gone, your taking over aren't you? Not wasting your time are you? Living with Cho now aren't you?"

"I..I…" Terrified Harry backed away as a shimmering image slowly rose and floated to him. "No..your..your dead…"

Cedric Diggory smiled maliciously. "Is that what you thought, or what you hoped Potter? I hear you've got plans for Cho now that I'm gone…"

"Cedric..you can't possibly believe…I mean…you were there..you know I didn't.." Harry looked plaintively at Cedric. "You have to believe me, I wouldn't..I couldn't…"

Cedric Diggory merely kept looking at Harry, his gaze seemed to burn a hole through Harry's chest. "You…killed me. You ran away! And now all you can think about is Cho?! The Cho that I loved?! You are selfish, you are malevolent, and you are nothing like the hero many believe you to be Potter. To me, you will always remain, a self-centered, egotistical, stupid boy."

To his horror, Cedric Diggory slowly changed, his handsome, accusing face becoming longer and paler. Hissing evilly, the countenance of Lord Vodermort leered at Harry. "More in common than I had thought Potter. Getting rid of Cedric like that was a stroke of pure genius. Perhaps you should become a Death Eater…yesssss…."

Harry woke with a start, a blur of images confronting him. He instinctively went for his glasses, which were propped up by a nearby dresser. Slowly, the images before him came into focus and he found himself in a strange and unusual room, far different than the one he usually occupied. Confusion filled him, and he struggled out of bed, before the awareness of where he was filled him. _Cho's room?_ He looked around curiously, finding himself in a large, pink bed, surrounded by stuffed animals.

The walls were filled with posters of several Quidditch teams, a singing group calling themselves the ChudleyBoys, and group photos of Cho with her friends and family, beaming and waving at him. Harry sank back into the pink bed, disturbing one of the teddy bears who smacked him on the head in bleary annoyance before settling itself near a different pillow away from Harry. 

Harry rubbed his eyes as he pondered about the dream, and Cedric. Guilt was starting to build up in him again. Why was he having these dreams? _It's obvious why you're having them Potter…_ he shook his head violently. He hadn't killed Cedric…yet, he had been jealous of him. The hardest part about Cedric's death was that it was almost as if someone had granted him his secret wish. He had been so intensely jealous of Cedric and his relationship with Cho that he hadn't really seen Cedric as a real person. All the times Cedric had helped him, how nice Cedric had been to him….

Had Lord Voldermort been right then? Was he really the same? Although he hadn't told anyone, one of his greatest fears was that he _was_ destined to be a Dark Wizard. After all, his fears weren't quite unfounded. In his first year, the Sorting Hat had wanted to put him into Slytherin, a house that turned out more Dark Wizards than any other. In his second year, he had learned that he was a parseltongue, and what was worse, Lord Voldermort had seemed to transfer some of his powers to Harry when he had given Harry his scar. And now…now he was largely responsible for Cedric's death, all because Cedric had gotten to Cho before he did…

Lying flat across the bed, his head accidentally resting on the same, irksome teddy bear that had hit him, Harry's thoughts were interrupted as the door swung open, and a very irate Fleur walked into the room, her silver hair flashing in the darkness.

"Zee has slept for vour hours!" She said almost accusingly.

"Four hours?" Harry asked, still rubbing his eyes.

"Zee should get dressed. Cho..is..waiting for vou."

"Cho? Waiting for me? Why?"

"Zee was promeesed a tour." Fleur said, her hands on her hips as she looked at him. "So zee is getting one. Howevea…" She paused, as she finally noticed the confused and worried look on his face. "Iz somet'ing wrong 'Arry?"

"Hm..oh….no, no…" Harry said quickly, his mind still on Cedric. A tour of Latrinval? With Cho? Should he go? What difference did it make? It wasn't as if she felt the same way he did. And he was interested in a Wizard City. "Tell her I'll be right down…"

Casting one final look at Harry, Fleur nodded before walking off, closing the door behind her. Harry got up from his bed, ignoring the angry yip from the indignant teddy bear as he got to his feet and looked around for his trunk, his thoughts now on Cho. What if she did feel something for him? She never would have if Cedric was still..alive? And who's fault had it been that he had died? _Yours of course, Potter, why do you even bother to ask?_

Opening his trunk, his eyes wandered to the scrapbook that Hagrid had given him his first year, right after he had defeated Lord Voldermort for the second time. Inside, were many moving pictures of Harry's parents. He opened it carefully, and looked inside, at the happy faces of the two people who had cared for him so much. He had never known them for Harry's parents had died when he was very young, saving him from Lord Voldermort. How he wished they were here now to give him advice.

Putting the scrapbook carefully back into his trunk, he tossed on a robe, and walked quickly down the stairs, trying to hide the tears that were making it rather difficult for him to see.

***

Cho grinned at Fleur, who refused to look at her as she fixed her long, black hair. A dozen of her outfits were strewn on Fleur's bed, and makeup was tossed haphazardly on a long table, as Cho scrutinized herself, butterflies flying in her stomach. How could she be so nervous? It wasn't as if he felt the same way she did. They were just going to go out, and she was going to show him some of Lavosier's more interesting sights.

"Zou are dressing up _quite a bit_ for a zee leetle boy who is just a _friend_?" Fleur suddenly said, looking at her with a piercing gaze. 

Cho laughed a bit nervously as she looked at Fleur, her eyes shining with a mixture of excitement and affection at her normally carefree friend. "He is just a friend.." She insisted at once. "I'm just going to show him some stores, and then maybe we'll go bowling. It's exactly the sort of thing you would do with Roger…and you told me _he was just a friend._"

"Roger ees…" Fleur began, her beautiful face turning a tinge of pink. "very nice…"

Roger Davies was the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain who had asked Fleur out the previous year. Fleur had been so attracted to him, that Cho had to deal with her constantly telling stories about how Roger had done this, or how Roger had done that. Cho, who was the Ravenclaw House Seeker, counted herself as one of Roger's friends, but even she could only take so much of Fleur's compliments about him before becoming ill.

"His nose _is_ rather big you know.." She began teasingly, as she carefully applied lipstick.

"Ees nose is not big!" Fleur almost shouted indignantly. "'Dat Potter boy..ees…ees..hair is..most..ruffly and unattractive!"

"Ruffly and unattractive?" Cho grinned, feigning shock. "Well…I'm at least a little lucky that Harry doesn't have Roger's..well..problem…"

"Ees what?!" 

"Well it isn't really my place to tell you but..Roger looks rather like a…" Cho started to mime squeaking noises at Fleur's confused face. "You know…a rat.."

"Ee does not look like a rat!" Fleur shrieked, throwing a pillow at Cho. 

Cho ducked just in time still grinning. "Temper temper…"

It was probably lucky for her that the door opened at this moment, Fleur looked angry enough to choke Cho to death. A very bewildered Harry Potter walked into the room, having been attracted by all the noise. Cho snorted barely containing her laughter as his lost expression, and Fleur's furious one. "So Harry.. " She smiled up at him. "Fleur and I were thinking about showing you the sights…this is your first time in Latrinval isn't it?" 

"Oh…sure…" Harry attempted a weak smile.

Cho grinned at Fleur who had turned bright pink. "You'll have to excuse me while I dress…not that I have much to hide from touchy-feely little Potter here do I?" With that, she left the room, exploding into laughter

***

Moments later, the three of them were sitting on the corner of a flashy café. Plates of treacle fudge, and chocolate puffs, along with pumpkin juice and vanilla shakes were piled along the corner. The only person who hadn't seemed to have overindulged was Fleur, who was complaining about not being able to fit into her dress robes again, to anyone who would listen.

"I've never seen anything quite like this.." Harry said, still awe-struck at the glistening city surrounding him.

"Well Latrinval certainly is one of a kind…" Cho smiled. "Mother and Father were most eager for me to come and see it. It's so beautiful isn't it…." She looked around as all the lights above them swirled around creating an unusual

"Yes..yes it is…" Harry was no longer staring at the city around him however, he was looking rather intently at Cho. Cho noticed this, and avoided his gaze, looking at the table. "I..I mean the lights…they're what's so…beautiful..not that I wasn't talking about the lights before..I mean...." Quickly changing the subject, Harry looked at Fleur, who had finally decided to indulge in a small chocolate puff. "So Fleur, how did you and Cho become roommates?"

Taking a small, delicate bite of her pastry, Fleur made a face before putting it back on the plate. "Too 'eavy..just like the food at 'Ogwarts..ouie…how will I survive?" Waving her hands distractedly at Harry's question she hesitated for a moment before speaking. "It vas after the Triwizard Tournament..after Cedric..died.."

An uncomfortable silence soon settled onto the table, as Cho and Harry started wrestling with their guilty thoughts again, both unable to look at each other. Fleur, sensing that she had stirred the pot, looked at them both, and concentrated very hard on her half-eaten cream puff. "I was..zere to comfort her…and..we became friends…zes, Cho has been vewy good to me.."

Looking up finally, Cho smiled at Fleur. "Most people..zey don't like the fact that I'm part-veela..except the boys and they don't really care. I didn't zave many friends..so when Cho's parents wanted her to go to Latrinval, Zhe invited me to be her roommate for the summer. Zhe even convinced Dummydore that I would be a good choice for a Professor at 'Ogwarts."

Another uncomfortable silence as Harry and Cho looked away from each other once more, and Fleur had run out of things to say. At that moment, a bright, purple light settled on a sign nearby that red _Tenpin Bowling! More fun than you'll ever need!_ Nearby a small picture of a man was winking and smiling at them, carrying a large bowling ball.

"Zee tenpin bowling! Wee don't have them at Beauxbatons. Wee must go try it." Fleur exclaimed, more to break the tension than anything else. Cho glanced up at the sign, and some of the color seemed to be returning to her face, while Harry seemed grateful for the interruption if anything else. "Come on!" Fleur said impatiently, as she grabbed both Harry and Cho and dragged them down the street.

Weaving themselves around the crowds of witches and wizards, they made their way towards a building Harry would have sworn was larger than Hogwarts itself. Shaped like a giant bowling pin, it stretched up higher than the eye could fathom. Every now and then, a loud crash could be heard resonating from inside the building. As the group walked towards the entrance, a tiny voice rang out shrilly "You have to _pay_ to get in you know!"

Astonished, the trio looked about, not finding anyone or anything around them.

"Down here!"

As one, all three of them looked down. Harry gazed upon one of the most interesting creatures he had ever seen. About as large as a pixie, that was the only characteristic that it had in common with the woodland creatures. A tail longer than its body, and a gleaming, mischievous face, the creature was looking up at the three of them with narrowed eyes. Small wings that didn't seem to get much use were covering most of its body while a golden necklace lay across it's chest, with a nametag that simply read _Roger_. "You'll have to pay or I'll have to do tremendously _EVIL_ things to you. Things you wouldn't tell your grandmother about." With that, it broke off laughing.

"Zee imp…" Fleur said in disgust, while Cho seemed about as fascinated as Harry did. "Zee are very…disgusting creatures…"

"Hey Sweetheart, just because I may be disgusting and _EVIL _doesn't mean we can't go out sometime eh? Your looking pretttttty fine." With that, the Imp gave Fleur a little wink, flap. "I promise I'll save the more _EVIL HORRENDOUS _things I can do until morning eh?"

Cho and Harry both hid smiles as Fleur turned away in horror. Glancing at the creature again, who was now carrying a small pitchfork and threatening Harry with it, Cho grinned. "How much do we have to pay?"

"Ohhhh…me being as _EVIL_ as I am, you'll have to pay a tremendously _EVIL _and _UNFAIR_ sum. Forty galleons each!" The imp chortled at its own words, clutching its sides with laughter. Poking Harry with its pitchfork, it glowered up at them.

"Forty galleons? That's ridiculous!" Harry protested. He had brought all the money he had saved from the year before, but even that was nowhere near enough to cover the charge of entering.

"Ridiculous?!" The Imp frowned; Harry's choice of words displeasing it. "Ridiculous?! ROGER is not RIDICULOUS! Roger is TREMENDOUSLY EVIL!" With that, the Imp stabbed Harry rather viciously in the foot. Luckily for Harry, not only was Roger tremendously evil but his pitchfork happened to be tremendously dull. Giving Harry an unpleasant leer, the Imp laughed louder than ever.

Cho who had now spied a group of five older wizards merely walk past the Imp into the building, glared at the Imp now. "How come you didn't charge _them?_"

"Oy! Don't try to change the subject!" The Imp snarled, snapping its teeth. "Forty galleons or your not getting in! Although you…_petite_ can get a discount, if you know what mean.." The Imp wrapped one of it's wings around Fleur's leg.

"Oh..zee horrible creature!" Fleur shrieked, shaking her leg violently trying to dislodge the Imp.

"_Stupefy!_" A green light flashed, and the Imp was tossed back violently. It hit the wall of the building with a resounding thud, before slumping to the ground unconscious. Next to them, a tremendously large wizard hurried toward them wand out. Much wider than he was tall, Harry almost got the impression that he was looking at a small planet. Even Dudley couldn't compare to this man's size. The wizard looked down at the three of them, and then at Roger.

"Aye, me finally finds me Roger!" The wizard bellowed, swinging a fat arm towards the fallen Imp. Stuffing Roger into his robes, the wizard gave Fleur an apologetic look. "Sorry missy, Imps be hard 'nough ter control normally, but Roger be a bit of a troublemaker." Patting the pockets of his robe the wizard looked quizzically at the three. "'Ope he didn't cause you too much trouble now did he?"

"Zee Imp…" Fleur began angrily, brandishing her own wand at the large man. "Zee Imp izz very…"

"Bit o' a miscreant ain't he? Nothin' to be afraid of though, miss. Lookin' a bit delicate though you are….mighta touched some nerves eh?" With that, the wizard's great beard shook as he bellowed with laughter in front of Fleur, who was turning redder by the second. "Well..me broom be waitin'…" The man said before Fleur could retort, and with that, left.

Harry, who was curious to see what kind of broomstick, could possibly carry a man that large, was dragged into the building by Cho and Fleur. His thoughts about the man were soon forgotten, for he was inside one of the most spectacularly decorated and palatial rooms he had ever been in. It was as if all of the space in Hogwarts had been fitted into one room, and then stretched out just a little bit further. Colorful bowling pin designs were etched across the walls, and loud, raucous music was playing from every inch of the room, filling it with intense noise.

If Harry thought there were a lot of lights outside in the city, it didn't compare to what was inside. It was as if somebody with a lot of paint had gone berserk, and splattered the entire floor with a multitude of colors, that kept moving, so you were never quite sure where you were. Walking over to a unoccupied bowling alley besides a group of boisterous teenage wizards, who seemed to have taken an interest in Fleur, Cho and Harry stood there looking at each other, one apprehensive, the other awe-stricken at what he was seeing.

"So..would you like to bowl?" Cho said, smiling at him. "It's not all that different from Muggle bowling…"

Harry looked carefully. It didn't seem to be all that different from bowling. Not that the Dursley's had ever taken him, but one rainy day during school, he had been allowed to try his hand at it. The only difference seemed to be that the pins were all different sizes, and the ball was twitching. Used to magic now however, Harry noted with satisfaction that these things didn't surprise him as much as they would have before.

"Sure…" Harry grinned picking up a small, reddish-orange ball from its slot, which was decorated uncomfortably too realistically like a dragon's maw. Immediately, Harry was pulled so hard, he was yanked right off his feet. Sliding haphazardly down the lane, that turned out to be much longer than it looked, he finally sat on the ball and got it under his control. Hearing a familiar laugh behind him, he gritted his teeth, struggled with his ball, and turned around. 

"What..is…so..funny?" Harry gasped, finding it hard to breathe.

"Nothing." Cho said, giving an impish smile.

__

I'll show her…Grabbing the ball, fueled with sudden righteous anger, Harry gave it his best toss down the lane. To his surprise, the ball flew faster than he could have possibly thrown it, bounced down three of the lanes, hit the ceiling, came back down, and bounced back into his lane, before utterly destroying all of the pins into tiny little pieces.

"Ha!" Harry said, panting with exhaustion. "I did it!" He didn't notice however, that quite a lot of people were staring at him, and Cho wasn't the only one laughing now.

"Um..sorry Harry, I should have explained the rules.." Cho said between bouts of laughter. "Your not.._supposed_ to knock down any of the pins…"

"What?" Harry paused for a moment, confused. "But then…"

"Your supposed to _miss_ them all, Harry." Cho grinned. "That's how wizards and witches play the game…I forgot that muggles do it the opposite way."

"That's not very hard though is it…missing them all.." Harry scoffed a bit. Shaking his head a bit at the absurdity of this, Harry walked back up to the ball slot, ignoring the amused look on Cho's face. "I mean..all you have to do is not try.."

Stalking back over to his lane, yellow-green ball struggling in his hands, he fumed as he heard Cho call out behind him. 

"Sure you don't need any help now Harry?"

Biting back a sharp remark, Harry simply closed his eyes, and let go of the ball. Grinning as his opened them again, his expression soon turned to that of shocked disbelief. Instead of staying put like it should have, his ball had simply soared awry zigzagging down the lane. Making it easier for the ball, the pins moved and arranged themselves into one large circle and threw themselves at the ball. Before he could say _Strike!_ he had knocked down all the pins once again.

Biting back another laugh, Cho couldn't help but notice how cute Harry looked standing there, hair all awry, looking as exasperated as he had ever looked. Stomping his foot on the ground, he stalked over to her, and she was careful not say a thing for fear of breaking out into peals of laughter. Finally, after a short silence, she grinned up at him.

"Well..it's not supposed to be easy…"

"_You_ try it." Harry retorted, turning away from her.

Smiling to herself, she gave Harry a light pat on the back before clutching a small pink ball from the rack. Whispering to it, she relaxed. Concentrating as she stared at the pins, which had arranged into a circle once again, she let fly with more skill than strength and watched carefully. The ball dodged as pin after pin tried to sacrifice itself upon the ball's heavy weight, but Cho had been confident when throwing. She managed to miss all but one of the pins, which had desperately pushed one of its brother pins towards the ball as a diversion before being squashed itself.

Grinning up at Harry, Cho casually flipped her hair. Sitting down besides him now, she grinned even more widely, when she noticed that he still wasn't looking at her. Judging from his expression though, he had been watching.

"So…care for me to give you some free lessons?"

"Sure." Harry accepted sullenly as he again stood up.

Cho giggled. _Oh this was going to be fun! _Harry regained most of his cheerfulness when a vendor stopped by selling souvenirs. He had brought just enough to buy them both of them silly little hats shaped like bowling pins, which lit up and yelled _Strruuuggggggannnnnooodle! _on command.

Now both looking immensely silly with great big bowling pin hats on their heads, Cho had to smile at the both of them. Grabbing a ball from the rack, she motioned for Harry to do the same. Walking over to the lane, she concentrated once more. "The trick is.." she began "to do the exact opposite of what you would do in the Muggle World. You want it to be able to fool the pins. Throw the ball in a way so that it'll miss most of the pins..some wizards try zig-zags, others do little circles……" Just as she let go however, she was startled with a sudden flash of light, and a high pitched voice screaming _Strruuuggggggannnnnooodle!_

The ball she had just thrown soared past her, and without a moment's hesitation, smashed into each and every one of the pins. She spun around and looked at Harry, who was wearing a rather guilty smile on his face, putting his hat back on his head. "Um..it went off..on accident.."

Grabbing Harry by the hem of his robes, Cho pulled him close to her. "_Really_ funny, Potter. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to cheat…" Suddenly conscious of how close they were to each other yet again, she stared at him, his emerald eyes making contact with her light brown ones. "Um…" She said, letting go suddenly. "You try it…"

Holding a tiny purple ball self-consciously close to him, Harry merely nodded. Following her instructions, he thought of a path that would carry his ball dangerously close to most of the pins, but not actually touching any of them. 

Flashing Cho a overconfident smile, he walked over to the lane, and carefully rolled the ball. Falling flat onto the lane, it rolled forward for about three feet, before flying back into Harry's hand. Desperately, he tried to throw the ball down the lane, but unfortunately, the ball didn't want to let go. "Cho! I..I can't…" Harry began hearing peals of laughter behind him.

"Oh Harry…" Cho said. "Your so..hopeless…."

The rest of the evening was spent in much the same fashion.


	6. Descent to Darkness

Chapter 6

Descent to Darkness

A/N: Thank you all for the support. Sorry for the wait, here is Part 6. Like always, please review if you enjoy it. 

"Zee can't be good at everyting, 'Arry." Fleur tried to explain, as the three of them walked out from an enjoyable evening of bowling. "Tenpin bowling takes a bit of practice…" Cho smiled at this, and shook her head. Harry had been even more annoyed to find out, that Fleur, who had never picked up a bowling ball in her life, had been quite a natural at the game. He had spent the remainder of the evening grumbling, although Cho could see that he was not seriously unhappy.

The three of them were out very late at night, although in the city of Latrinval, nothing every really stopped. Wizards and witches were still hurrying in the darkness of the night sky, and the ever-present iridescent beams of colored light were still sweeping the streets, illuminating countless buildings and structures that Harry had never seen before.

"What next?" Harry asked eagerly.

Fleur looked at him appraisingly. "Zee should get back home…it ees quite late."

"Oh come on, Fleur. He's slept the entire afternoon. Let him have some fun!" Cho cried indignantly, grabbing Harry's arm. Her cheeks colored red when he gave her a smile of thanks, and the three of them continued down the street. They decided not to mention the _Magic Missile_ again for fear that Fleur would break out into one of her tirades.

"So where do you want to go Harry?" Cho asked, smiling at him. He felt a little funny, and turned nervously away, looking down at his feet as if they were the most interesting things in the world.

"Um…" Harry started. "I…don't really know."

"Of course he doesn't. Zee forgot he has never been here before, how ees he supposed to know where to go?" Fleur said, looking at Cho knowingly. Cho looked away from her and an awkward moment passed. "Wee could go see the Ministry of Magic."

"Oh!" Harry said with surprise and more than a little interest. "It's here?" 

"Of course it is…" Cho said smiling at him. "At least, the Ministry of Magic for Britain is. You should really come see it, Harry. It has all these departments full of important witches and wizards…they even have guided tours."

"Yeah, I'd really like that." Harry said, smiling at her. He felt himself turning red again as he saw her looking at him funny. "My friend Ron's father works in the Ministry of Magic…" He said, trying to change the subject.

"Oh! Ron…" Cho paused as if thinking. "Your tall friend with the freckles?"

"Yeah…wait…how did you know that?" Harry queried a little suspiciously.

"Well gee Harry, it might be the fact that you hang out with him, and that other girl with the glasses all the time." He heard her reply. Harry could have sworn that Cho's voice had changed when she mentioned the 'girl with the glasses.' He couldn't put his foot on how exactly it had changed though.

"Yeah…I should have realized that." He said, rearranging his glasses awkwardly.

"Here…let me do it." Cho said, watching him. Her hands slowly reached for his face and then for his glasses. He felt her carefully place them correctly on his eyes before leaning in a little bit more as if inspecting her work. She was so close…he could feel his heart racing, and his breathing quickening. She had never quite been this close. 

Close up, Cho's light brown eyes were…_beautiful_. He instantly blushed at his choice of words, but could think of no other. Her black hair swirled around her, making her look both bewitching and innocent at the same time. He could see why so many guys seemed to follow her around. She was really pretty. The thought of the men of Cho's life instantly brought his mind back to Cedric, and that sobered him quickly. He stepped away from her, but didn't miss the disappointed look she gave him.

"Well…if zee are done…" Fleur said very carefully as she looked at them. "Wee can be on our way…"

"Oh right!" They said together, and blushed.

Fleur looked at them strangely, and together the three of them continued walking down the paved roads. Harry was studiously avoiding Cho's glance, and Cho was avoiding his. Fleur couldn't help but notice that Harry seemed to be preoccupied with his surroundings a little more than usual, while Cho seemed to be trying to figure out if something was wrong with her robes.

"Harry!" A familiar voice called out. Harry turned eagerly as a thin figure strode towards them from a large marble building. On top of it, in golden bright letters were the words 'Ministry of Magic.' Stone dragons guarded the entrance, while designs of all kinds filled the doors. Harry gaped in wonderment just as the thin figure called out again. "Harry, is that you?"

"Mr. Weasley!" Harry blinked in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I work here…" Mr. Weasley said, a kind smile coming to his face. "I've heard about that little mess you got into coming here…ah…this must be the infamous Cho Chang." 

Cho turned marvelously red at this, and turned away trying to hide her blush.

"I was hoping you'd stop by!" Mr. Weasley said enthusiastically. "Got some…eh…_computers_ I want you to have a look at. There some kind of Muggle device used to write…can't see why they can't use a good quill and ink, but you can never tell with Muggles. You simply must come over and stay with us again! I insist!"

"Eh…" Harry said looking at Cho who was still avoiding him. "I'm actually staying here with a friend…"

"Oh!" Mr. Wealsey said as if noticing Harry's companions for the first time. "Your Fleur Delacour aren't you? The Beauxbatons champion? I remember you…spectacular performance last year at that Tri-Wizard Cup my dear. My son Charlie has been talking about you…" 

Fleur blushed and smiled happily at the compliment. Harry looked over at the marvelously decorated if somewhat solemn building still in front of them, eager to get a peek inside. "So…Mr. Weasley, do you think it'd be ok if we took a look?"

"Oh!" Arthur said, glancing back over. "I can't see why it would hurt…if you must know, Harry. Security's been a little high around here…what with the rumors about you-know-who and other …_stuff._" Harry stifled a smile. Mr. Weasley just like Ron, was a notoriously bad liar.

"What other stuff?" Cho asked curiously, but Mr. Weasley made a point of ignoring her question as they passed the stone dragons. Harry and Fleur both shivered a bit, having experienced the power and ferocity of real dragons all too closely.

"Well, this is the Reception area…where we get requests for help, send off letters, get complaints…that sorta think." Mr. Weasley said as the four of them walked down a long hallway carrying thousands of owls. Little owls, big owls, tiny owls, snowy white ones, brown ones, every owl imaginable seemed to be stacked on the shelves. It was even bigger than the owlery at Hogwarts. Everywhere, official looking documents and papers were strewn on the shelves and even on the floors. "Eh…we aren't exactly very organized here…" Mr. Weasley said apologetically.

"It's amazing!" Harry said. Cho mirrored his thoughts, although Fleur managed to look as suitably unimpressed as always.

"Department of the Care and Regulation of Magical Creatures…" Mr. Wealsey said as they passed a large room. Harry stopped right in his tracks. Pixies, trolls, ogres, werewolves, and even some creatures he hadn't seen before were all milling about among wizards and witches who were frantically trying to solve their problems.

"But my teeth hurt! Why can't you fix that?" He heard a vampire cry from the corner. A pair of pixies made off with a wizard's hat only to be frozen and then tossed into a cage. Disorder and chaos raged in the area as a large giant got free and started clubbing everything in his sight before a trio of wizards got the situation under control.

"It is a little…crazy around here sometimes…" Mr. Weasley said, shrugging a bit. "At least there's no dementors…" He offered weakly.

Harry shuddered at the thought before continuing onwards. He almost stopped in his tracks again when he felt a hand envelop his own. Looking up, he saw Cho studiously avoiding his gaze, although her hand tightened around his. More than a little nervous, they walked slowly together after Fleur and Mr. Weasley who had gotten ahead of them.

"And this…" Mr. Wealsey said proudly. "Is my Department."

It was very small compared to the other Department. But it was stacked with everything that could have been related to Muggles. Harry saw books upon books stacked talking about the History of Muggles to their Pop Culture. Radios, clocks, TVs, VCRs, and one computer were stacked haphazardly around a large table. A large collection of batteries, plugs, and wires had been placed in a large bowl. Even parts of a car had been strewn onto a small desk.

"Wow…" Cho said. "This is really neat!" She immediately started to examine a small TV inquisitively, pressing knobs and buttons.

Mr. Weasley turned red with the compliment and shook his head. "It's not much, but then I don't need all that much." He puffed out a bit, and grinned. "Now why don't you show me how to work this…_computer_, thing Harry?"

As the other two girls examined things that Harry had taken for granted, he was more than happy to show Mr. Wealsey how a computer worked. Just as he was explaining the world of the Internet, which to Mr. Wealsey, was even more fascinating than traveling by floo powder, a large owl suddenly swooped in carrying a message.

Mr. Weasley snatched at it, a little irritated at the distraction, before a wide smile came to his face. "It's just Molly, word travels fast." His eyes traveled to Cho again. "She wants you to come and stay with us…"

Harry paused again, still looking at Cho. What did she want? He frowned to himself. What did she care if he stayed with her or with the Weasleys. But even now, the feel of her hand on his seemed to be burnt into his memory. He looked back at Mr. Weasley who was smiling at him kindly, awaiting his decision. "Um…can I bring friends?"

Mr. Weasley's eyes traveled to Fleur and Cho. "Of course, if they want to go that is." He added hastily.

"Oh…zee…very sudden…" Fleur began haltingly.

"I'm sure Charlie will be happy to see you…" Mr. Weasley said, a slight smile on his face.

"Oh…yes, of course, I'd be happy too!" Fleur said, a faint smile on her beautiful face.

Cho looked a little distracted as she gazed at Harry. Why had he done that? Did he want to spend more time with her? Or did he only feel guilty about leaving her? She frowned to herself, but the feel of his hand on hers seemed burnt into her mind. It had felt so right, yet so wrong at the same time. Glancing back at Harry who was looking at her plaintively, she gave him a small smile. "Sure."

"Well it's settled then! We'll just wrap up this tour and then…" He trailed off again as a group of black-robed wizards suddenly entered the room with wands out. "What? Moody? What's going on?" Harry started, his eyes coming to rest on the face of a man he knew well.

Mad-Eye Moody as he was called had once been the most proliferate auror in his time, putting more people in Azkaban than anyone else. However, his constant vigilance had made him rather paranoid, and although he had come to teach at Hogwarts, Harry had discovered at the end of the term that the Mad-Eye Moody he knew wasn't really Moody. He blinked now at the skin like wood, the revolving eye, and the wooden leg-piece. 

"Trouble, Arthur." Moody growled, his eyes coming to rest on Harry, then going up to the scar. "Potter…" He trailed off.

"What's happened?" Arthur said anxiously.

"Security trolls have been knocked out. We think an intruder's in here…might be trying to get to the…" Moody looked at Harry pointedly. "The light..you know…"

"Oh!" Mr. Weasley looked perturbed and glanced at the three children. "You better stay here…it might be dangerous." With that, Mr. Weasley and the three Aurors left quickly.

The three stood there alone, the area around them suddenly seeming more dangerous than it had before. Cho looked at Harry, who in turned look back at her. Fleur seemed more interested in looking at herself through one of the Muggle mirrors.

"Light? You don't think they mean the Light of Latrinval do you, Fleur?" Cho said eagerly, her eyes twinkling with excitement.

"Zee…certainly' not, dee Ministry of Magic would not dare take the Light of Latrinval…" Fleur said, shaking her head as she examined her face. "Does dee think my hair is ok?"

"It's _fine_," Cho said crossly, looking at her. "But, what else would they be talking about?"

"What's the Light of Latrinval?" Harry asked. Living with muggles for most of his life, he had found out that what many wizards and witches took for granted as common knowledge he still had to learn. This was yet another case where his lack of knowledge embarassed him slightly.

"Oh!" Cho said, whirling about to look at him. "Sorry, Harry I forgot…" She paused looking a little flustered. "That you didn't know…I mean not that I don't think your smart…I just meant that…"

"Oh!" Harry blinked, turning a little red. "It's ok, really…a lot of people make that mistake…I mean not that it was a mistake…not that you even needed to apologize…I mean…"

They both paused as the dawning realization that Fleur was looking very interested at the both of them came onto them. Pausing slightly, they again avoided each other's gaze, and Fleur shook her head knowingly.

"Dee Light of Latrinval…ees what provides the weezard city with all it's mageecal lights." Fleur said, flourishing delicately. "Eet is rumored to be a very powerful magical artifact…"

"Which is exactly why the Ministry might want to protect it…" Cho began eagerly. "You know…now that you-know-who…"

"Dee _elves_ own the Light of Latrinval Cho…" Fleur said, shaking her head, and tossing her hair back. "And elves have powerful magic of their own. They certainly don't need to depend on dee Ministry of Magic for protection."

"But what _else_ could they be talking about?" Cho said.

Harry felt a sinking sensation as the two of them argued. The Light of Latrinval? The Sorceror's Stone, the Light of Latrinval, it was all the same to a power-hungry Dark Wizard. He glanced around nervously as if expecting Lord Voldermort to descend upon the three of them now, and was relieved to find nothing there. 

"Whatever it ees, it is not the Light of Latrinval." Fleur finished with a radiant glower, as if to challenge anyone to dispute her statement. Cho merely sighed at her friend and continued playing with a calculator, while Harry sat at the desk lost in his thoughts.

Mad-Eye Moody was an auror again? The Ministry must be desperate if they were to hire on the paranoid wizard again. He felt a shudder go through his body as his thoughts went over to the previous year's events. Voldermort's most loyal supporter had impersonated Mad-Eye Moody and gotten into Hogwarts in an attempt to end Harry's life. It was during the ensuing struggle that Cedric had died. He felt another shiver run through his spine, and hoped feverently that Cho didn't notice.

Harry looked back at Cho again, and sighed. What was it about her that he liked so much. At first, during his third year, he had put his affection towards Cho as a mere childhood crush, one he would get over soon enough. Than during his fourth year, he had began noticing how pretty Cho was, obsessing over her little mannerisms, wondering if she even noticed him.

When she had refused his invitation to the ball so as not to disappoint Cedric, he had felt as if his heart had been ripped apart and thrown to the far corners of the sea. When Cedric had died, he had immediately of how Cho might react. He had wanted to comfort her. Wanted to tell her he had been sorry. His gaze fell over her face just as she turned to look at them.

They turned away again quickly wearing identical blushes.

"Harry…"

"Cho…"

A moment of silence ensued.

"You go first…" Harry said, his tone betraying his nervousness.

"No why don't you?" Cho said, looking up at him earnestly.

"I…" Harry's eyes widened. What was he going to say? _Cho, I love you with all my heart! _Even inside his head, the words sounded ridiculous. Out loud, they would have been even worse. The old pain of rejection crept through his mind, and he struggled to find the words to express his heart.

"Yes, Harry?" Cho said, coming closer to him.

"I…" Harry said, licking suddenly dry lips.

Fleur's scream interrupted the tender moment, and Cho spun around, missing Harry's sudden look of disappointment before it turned to concern. A quick look around the room revealed that Fleur was nowhere to be found.

"Where is she?" Cho cried in a panicked voice. "She was just right there…"

Harry looked around, his brow furrowing. His scar didn't hurt, that was a good sign. That didn't mean that there weren't dozens of Death Eaters about who wouldn't have trigged his little warning system, but at least Voldermort wasn't anywhere close. "I don't know…maybe we should get help."

Cho looked at Harry plaintively, before pulling a wand from her robes. She merely nodded at him, and he pulled his own wand. Together, they walked cautiously out of the room, to a stifling darkness that threatened to consume them.

"Where is everyone?" Cho whispered, startling Harry who was in front of her.

"I don't know…what happened to all the lights?" Harry said, straining to see in the darkness.

"Harry…they're usually permanently on. Everything is in Latrinval…" Cho said, her voice frightened. 

"Than…than…the light?"

"I think so…"

They both huddled to a corner as two figures in black suddenly appeared around them, conversing darkly with each other.

"Has to be around here somewhere…" One voice growled.

"Be serious now, Moody, where would he have gone?" The other replied.

"Up, down, left, right, it doesn't really matter now does it? The question is, where is he now?"

"What about that scream?"

"Probably just that French girl…he wouldn't have hurt her, she's part-veela isn't she?"

"Well…yes, but still, don't you think we should go check…"

"I think we have more important things to do…"

"Well…you're the auror, you know better than I do, I still think we should check…"

"Potter!" Harry looked up, his eyes wide as Mad-Eye Moody suddenly appeared above him, his face peering down fiercely. "What are you doing here?"

Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, stood next to the infamous auror, his eyes suddenly widening at the sight of Harry and Cho. "Harry? What are _you_ doing here?"

"They're with me, they're with me!" Mr. Weasley's familiar and comforting voice filled the room. "On a tour I daresay, before this business started…"

"What's happening, Sir?" Harry said.

"Slight mishap is all…poor security and all. I do so say, you never can trust trolls." Cornelius Fudge said, his eyes darting nervously to Moody.

"Light of Latrinval." Moody barked. "Stolen."

"Moody! I don't think these kids really need to know-"

"They need to know as much as we choose to tell them, Minister. And they deserve to know the truth. They're in a lot of danger just being here, especially Potter." Moody growled, and Fudge looked slightly shaken.

"You don't think that he would dare…"

"Not while I'm here he wouldn't…" Moody frowned, one eye still looking around.

"Who?" Harry asked, his eyes darting from Mad-Eye Moody's wood-like face, to Cornelius Fudge's anxious one. 

"Really!" Mr. Wealsey huffed. "Don't you think they should be taken to safety at once! Arguing here while the two of them are still inside the building."

"Outside, is not going to be much better." Moody growled. 

The three looked closely at the two huddled in the corner, and Harry felt for the first time, just how close Cho was to him. In their anxious rush to get to a corner and hide, he had unconsciously put his arms around her protectively. Her face was nestled close to his face, and far from uncomfortable, he felt as if it was the most natural thing in the world for her face to be there. She blushed suddenly as if realizing what he was noticing, and he awkwardly put his hands to his sides.

"Well where can we take them then? What about Jenkins and Perk? Can't they take them?" Fudge said, referring to the two other aurors that had been with Moody.

"Dead." Moody stated bluntly.

"Dead?!" Fudge blinked astonished.

"Avada Kedvara." Moody replied grimly. "Found them as I went up the stairs…both of them."

The gathered wizards all shuddered in unison, the thought of the infamous killing curse sending unconscious fears flying through their minds. Everyone but Moody suddenly started looking around in the darkness, as if doing so would reveal it's secrets.

"Well just have to take them outside ourselves…" Mr. Weasley frowned. "They'll come home with me. It'll be too dangerous in Latrinval now…"

"But Fleur!" Cho blurted out suddenly. "We heard her scream!"

"It's alright little girl…" Moody growled, a sudden smile breaking onto his face. It was not a very pleasant sight. "She's part-veela after all."

Neither Cho nor Harry could see how this had to do with anything, but they were left with no further opportunities to argue. The gathered wizards ushered them away, wands out for any signs of danger. Strolling through the darkened hallways was not nearly as fun as when they had entered. Harry found himself staring closely at every shadow, while Cho was somewhat embarrassed to find that Harry's presence comforted her a great deal.

The two walked outside, startled at the change that had occurred outside. Instead of bright, shiny magical lights, the city was blanketed with darkness. Shouts and screams rang out here and there, and slowly but surely, candles and lighted wands were slowly being lit. The streets were empty of people, a very disturbing image. Harry heard Cho give a startled gasp besides him, and he looked up.

In the sky, a very familiar symbol rang clear into the night. A shiny green serpent lay, glowering down at the entire city, as if intending to strike at any moment. The Dark Mark.

"That…" Moody said, catching Harry's eye. "Would be the work..of Sirius Black."

A/N: I don't really know where I'm going with this…but as always, review if you like it!


	7. Argus Dragonslayer

Chapter 6

A/N: I've finally updated.

To those who supported me, I'd like to thank you. By the way, for anyone who wondered, Roger is indeed a product of Murray from the Monkey Island Series. A somewhat modified one, but yes, that's where I got the idea. 

Please review if you like it.

Chapter 6

Argus Dragonslayer

The gleaming emerald symbol filled the night sky, casting it's malevolent light upon the darkened city. The symbol of the Death Eaters, the sign of Lord Voldermort's resurgence to power gleamed brighter than the magical lights conjured up by the greatest wizards in the world's largest magical city. The symbol's majestic beauty could not be denied, yet it's purpose struck fear into the hearts of anyone who gazed upon it's terrible visage.

"You _can't_ be serious? Sirius Black? _The_ Sirius Black?" Mr. Weasley shot a confounded look at Mad-Eye Moody, his nose twitching nervously. "He _couldn't_ have done that. Think about what your _saying_ Moody. This is Sirius Black we're talking about."

"I do say Moody, Arthur's got a point there. Latrinval's locked down tighter than Gringotts nowadays. How would an well-known death-eater like Sirius Black be able to pull off something like that?" Fudge blanched white, as if considering his own words. "Unless…_unless…_"

"Exactly." Moody rumbled, turning his ancient, grizzled face to the sky where the serpent still hung, it's hungry eyes looking down upon the small group. "Do not forget who Black works for…or what powers the Dark Arts grants those who give their lives and…"

"Preposterous! There has to be another explanation!" Mr. Weasley interrupted, drawing a dangerous look from his auror companion. "_Sirius Black?_ Cornelius, you don't really believe that Sirius Black had anything to do with this do you? He hasn't been seen since…"

"Since he escaped from Azkaban. Since he accomplished what was deemed an _impossible_ feat." Mad-eye Moody's stern and unforgiving look temporarily subdued Mr. Weasley. "Might I remind you, Arthur, that Sirius Black is an dangerous and unpredictable individual. He has escaped the grasp of dementors on several occasions…do not put it past him to be able to sneak past an auror guard or two."

"But there were over four-hundre-"

"Anything's possible, Arthur." Fudge replied, cutting the argument short. For a moment, the trio of adults turned their eyes to the sky, and each relived distant memories of that same symbol, and the sorrow and fear that it had brought. Families destroyed, wizards and witches slain…

Harry briefly wondered if the Dark Mark had appeared when his parents had been slain so many years ago. Was that how Dumbledore and the others had found him? Had Voldermort's symbol cursed the very air around him the day his parents had been killed?

Fudge turned to his companions, his voice quavering with barely restrained terror. "With you-know-who back…anything's possible…"

The air of possibility did seem to fill the air, the possibility of unimaginable darkness. After all, the most powerful Dark Wizard the magical world had ever known had been resurrected from near death. His followers had returned to him. What horrors might Voldermort unleash upon Latrinval if he knew that Harry was there? How many others would die because of who Harry was, and what Harry had done?

"We should at least get Dumbledore…" Mr. Weasley replied after a moment of silence. "He'll want to know what's happened."

"_Dumbledore_ is not the Minister of Magic! I am! He will learn about this when he needs to! Right now, there are more important things to attend to!" Fudge suddenly spat out, his eyes narrowing at the other two adults, silently daring them to contradict his statement.

For a moment, even Mad-Eye Moody seemed a bit perturbed at Fudge's unusual behavior, and the suspicious glare that his grisly, wooden eye shot at the Minister of Magic seemed to calm the thin, raggedy man immensely.

"Going to have to get to Cloakwood sooner or later." Moody replied after the moment of stunned silence. "The Elves won't be too happy."

"I do say, I wouldn't be if the situations were reversed." Mr. Weasley replied, still a bit uneasy after Fudge's outburst.

Lost in his own thoughts, Harry Potter fared no better than Mr. Weasley. Sirius Black? His godfather? It couldn't be, could it? No, it couldn't be. Harry mentally berated himself for even suspecting that this…_this_ could be the work of his beloved godfather. 

No, Sirius Black had already been proven innocent of one heinous crime. This would be no different. The rest of the magical world could continue to view his godfather as a dangerous criminal, but in Harry's eyes, Sirius Black was a good man, and a trusted friend. He would never have done this.

Whatever _this_ was. The magnitude of what had happened still escaped Harry. Something had been stolen, something important. And the elves of Cloakwood were somehow involved. Yet why had Voldermort come to Latrinval? What exactly had been stolen? The possibilities did nothing to ease Harry's anxious mind.

"Harry?" 

He turned slightly, gazing into Cho's troubled eyes. Her face was etched with worry. Worry over _him._ Her concern touched him to the depths of his heart.

"Are you okay?" She looked away, her voice growing softer as she spoke. "I mean…you looked like you were somewhere else…"

"I…I'm fine…I…" Harry sighed, and shook his head. "Just thinking about something else…" 

"Do you want to talk about it?" Cho asked tentatively, her earlier bravado forgotten as she noticed the familiar lines of worry appearing over Harry's brow. 

It had often amused her when it had happened before. At Hogwarts, she had been surprised when she had first noticed it. Harry Potter, the great Harry Potter, actually worried about something. Oftentimes, it had been things that were quite silly. His first match of Quidditch for example, a match that after all these years, she still couldn't resist teasing him about.

Other times, it had been things that had been quite serious. When the entire school had somehow come to the dramatic conclusion that Harry Potter was the descendant of the Dark Lord, she had seen those worry lines grow and grow. She had wanted to come up to him, and comfort him. To tell him not to worry…but how could she? What could _she_ offer to Harry Potter that hundreds of other girls couldn't?

"Cho?"

She turned slightly, gazing into his light-green eyes, marveling at the intensity of his gaze. "Wha..what?"

He grinned, arching an eyebrow as he leaned in closer. "Is something wrong? You looked like you were somewhere else…" His horrible impersonation of her voice made her smile. Just briefly.

Then she punched him on the shoulder. Hard.

"Ow!" Harry rubbed his shoulder, his grin growing wider as he noticed her flustered look. For a moment, he considered continuing the verbatim, yet the sudden sorrow that had crossed her face stopped him. Something was definitely bothering her, something that pained her a great deal. And he had a good idea what that something was.

After all, hadn't Cedric's death been heralded by this very sign?. A call to the followers of Voldermort to return to him? What did she feel when she looked at him? Disgust? Anger? Guilt? 

His heart ached as he tried desperately to find a way to help her, but how could he? After all, wasn't he the cause of this pain? 

"Thinking about something?" Harry reached for her hand gently, drawing her close. His emerald eyes softened as they gazed upon her almond ones, and he felt a sudden impulse to wrap his arms around her waist…a impulse that he found rather difficult to deny.

Cho blushed self-consciously and turned away, ignoring the warmth ignited by his touch. "Hard not to after all that's happened."

"That's true…" He sighed, and shook his head. "I don't think it'll get any better. "

"Probably not." She replied lightly, the mischievous sparkle in her eyes returning. "But hey, don't worry so much, I'll be there to get you out of trouble."

Reading the challenge in her eyes, Harry chuckled. Whatever it was that had pained her so deeply, it was gone now. No doubt, it would resurface later on, but evidently, she had buried it once more. Perhaps one day, she would share her secret worries with him…perhaps one day she would confide in him.

He wondered if she had been like this with Cedric. So warm, so giving…did he really think he deserved her? After killing her only hope for happiness, he would simply barge in on her life and expect everything to be fine? What would she want with a boy like him anyway? What could he offer that a hundred other boys couldn't?

"Who says I need your help?" He replied with a slight huff, the sparkle in his eyes mirroring hers.

"Who says I'm going to give you the option of refusing my help?" Cho replied honestly, her radiant smile widening. He felt his knees melt as he looked at her, his lips automatically moving closer to hers. She looked confused and hesitant for a brief moment, and then the long-buried feelings that she had nestled within her heart escaped, and she could no longer deny that she wanted this.

After all, did anyone truly deserve someone else? Perhaps the secret of love was simply accepting someone else for who they were, and listening to your heart. And perhaps the secret of forgiveness was love…

As their eyes met, their lips inched closer, each hesitant to make the first move, each looking to the other for reassurance. She lowered her eyes briefly, blushing furiously as she met his gaze again, filling his heart with a gentle warmth that uplifted his spirit.

They looked at each other, each seeking something else from the other…

In her, he found the reassurance and warmth he needed to calm the intense guilt in his heart. In him, she found the confidence and strength she needed to move along with her life.

He smiled and leaned in closer, brushing a strand of hair away from her eyes. "Cho…" His words fell flat as his eyes promised her everything and anything…

It could change them forever, if they allowed it to happen…

But could they?

"'Dat wuz zee most 'orrible experience that I have eva had the misfortune of experiencing in my life!" A familiar, melodic voice suddenly rang across the night, shattering the mood. 

To their embarrassment, Harry and Cho found all three adults gazing upon them with strange looks on their faces. Well, three adults and one young woman who looked decidedly scandalized.

Fleur Delacour, her beautiful face streaked with tears, her perfect hair in less than optimal condition stormed through the crowd and shook her fist angrily at the young pair. "Wee should have gone 'ome! Theese is not safe anymore! 'Arry should not even be out here!"

She turned her sharp glare at the three adults standing nearby. "And why are you dree just standing there?!" The wrath of this temperamental vision of beauty spurred the officials into action, and they turned away, chuckling knowingly amongst themselves.

Harry didn't want to know what they were talking about, although he had a pretty good idea what they were saying.

"Fleur!" Cho piped up, the red in her cheeks disappearing as concern for her friend gradually replaced it. "What happened?"

"Zee..zee…'orrible, 'orrible man and ees imp!"

As one, the three of them turned to gaze upon a giant of a man as he strode through the streets, his entire, rotund body sporting an equally large suit of archaic armor. Every movement that he made sent a shrill, ear-piercing shriek through the air. An axe, several times larger than Harry himself, could be seen slung across his massive shoulders. 

And Roger the imp could be seen leering at the three of them, firmly planted on the man's shoulder. "Well, well, well…a little late to be out isn't it? Don't know what could be in the shadows looking for little children like you…" The small creature raised it's wings impressively, or so it thought, and snapped it's jaws. "Boo!"

When none of the three seemed to be overly fearful, it gave up and marched sulkily back up it's master's shoulder.

"Now now, Roger, that not be the way we be wantin' to treat the innocents that we save, now is it?" The giant man glanced down at Harry, his eyes widening in surprise once he spotted the lightning-shaped scar on Harry's forehead. "Well now, this be a pleasure that I didn't think I would be havin' in me lifetime. Harry Potter! Well, it be a pleasure to meet ya, chap. A real pleasure indeed."

"Pleasure?!" Fleur seemed to be in the throes of a violent tantrum, and for a moment, even Mad-Eye Moody stepped uneasily away from the half-veela. "I never needed your help! You and that dirty little creature of yours!"

"Dirty?" The Imp looked rather pleased. "Dirty and TREMENDOUSLY EVIL! You must remember th-…" Mad-Eye Moody's warning glare managed to shut the raving creature up rather nicely.

"Zee imp! I will destroy zee imp!" Cho barely managed to restrain Fleur from her wand before Roger's fate was sealed. Just for a moment however, she wondered if it would be better for Fleur to unleash her anger upon the horrible creature.

"Now now, ye can't be threatenin' to kill me imp like that! Roger can be a bit…" The large man stumbled about for words to adequately describe his pet.

"Evil?" Roger offered from his side.

"Annoying…" The armored behemoth finished with a stout smile. "But he is a bit of an useful creature, yes. Got me out of a few scraps that would've finished me for sure. And believe me, I've been in a few scraps. Why just last week, I was fighting several giants on the hills of Humar when a bloody dra-"

"Argus Dragonslayer." Mad-Eye Moody growled finally, a measure of respect coming into his one good eye. "Good to have you here."

"And good to be here!" Argus offerered, his eyes narrowing as he gazed upon the sky. "These times offer us no opportunity for rest, now do they. Has Dumbledore been told about this?"

Now it was Fudge who seemed to be on the verge of a violent tantrum. He managed to control himself in the face of the large crowd, and merely shook his head and walked away, promising that Dumbledore would be notified first thing in the morning when he got to the office.

The group watched the Minister of Magic as he departed, angrily muttering things about a lack of respect for betters.

Mr. Weasley looked at Fudge's retreating back with some concern. "Can't understand it. Been like that for a while. Seems to think Dumbledore is going to be after his job next. Not that Dumbledore would even consider being the Minister of Magic. Too many responsibilities, he always said, although the position was offered to him many times before." Looking conspiratorially at the others, he shook his head. "I do say, I would feel a lot better with Dumbledore behind us then Fudge now that you-know-who has come back. Especially since Fudge didn't even believe it when it first happened. But Dumbledore won't hear of it. Insists that Fudge is a good man. If you ask me, the stress is finally getting to our Minister of Magic."

"Aye, the dark arts plagues all of our souls these days." Argus said, watching as a cadre of aurors began sweeping down the streets. "Fudge _be _a good man, trust in him. Aye, we go back quite a ways, him and I. Met 'im while he was still traveling about the world. Not one to go and face the dark arts head-on, but he wasn't the kind to run from it either. He just needs some time to adjust, that be all."

"Time, is a commodity we don't have much of these days, gentlemen." Mad-Eye Moody shook his head vaguely and moved off with another group of aurors who were casting various types of reversal spells onto the sky, hoping to rid the city sky of the ever-present Dark Mark.

"If ye ask me, Moody's the one to watch." Argus smirked, following the infamous auror with his eyes as the other left. "Always gave me the creeps, that one." Looking back at Harry, the monstrous man smiled cheekily. "'Arry Potter! Always seems to be in the thick of things, eh?"

"Uh…yes, Mr. Dragonslayer..I mean, not that I try Mr. Dragonslayer…" Harry started, a faint flush coming to his cheeks.

"Aye, call me Argus! Everyone else does! Except Roger that is. Aye, my imp has got a few choice words he be liking to call me! A few pet names if ye will." 

"Indeed, fascinating…pet you have there." Mr. Weasley offered with a genuine smile. "Don't see many of them around here nowadays."

"No ye don't. Roger's one of the last of his kind, or was that is. Now that you-know-who's come back, imps and demons will be popping out of the ground quite regularly if ye ask me."

"Now now, I'm sure that's quite an exaggeration…" Mr. Weasley chuckled, his smile becoming strained now. "The Ministry wouldn't…"

"Bah! The Ministry's outmatched and ye know it Arthur! Runnin' scared they is, now that you-know-who's come back. I've always wondered why you didn't quit your job. Now that Voldermort's back, I would think that ye would want ye children and ye wife to be safer than that. The W.A.D.A. would take good care of ye all. Never doubt that." Argus stroked his beard and offered Mr. Weasley a strange smile.

"The Ministry provides me and my oldest son with good jobs, Argus. And you've seen Mad-Eye Moody and the others...they're doing their best…"

"Why their best doesn't seem to be good enough, now does it? Blessed be, I wouldn't want to be with _Moody_ when he gets over to Cloakwood and has to explain all this to the elves. Say…how far do you reckon they'll be able to throw him?"

"Now _really_, Argus, that's not overreact here. The elves have always been understanding…" 

"Aye, but now ye've gone and lost…" Argus blinked, suddenly noticing the three pairs of curious ears paying attention to his every word. "Well, that's not for me to say, now is it?" Turning around, transferring most of his substantial bulk to the side of the street, he gave them all a small wave."I reckon it be about time for me and Roger to be departing. Don't want to wear out our welcome. Besides, lots to do before the…well, that's a bit o' a surprise it is. Reckon' I'll be seeing a lot more of you later, I will."

As he moved away, Cho finally let go of Fleur, who seemed on the verge of going after him. Well, perhaps not Mr. Dragonslayer, but his untrustworthy companion, Roger the Imp.

Mr. Weasley turned back then as if noticing Harry and the others for the first time. "Ah, Harry! Well, dreadful business…sorry you had to witness it all."

"Mr. Weasley, you don't really think that…Sirius…" Not wanting to betray his godfather in front of the others, Harry trailed off, looking expectantly upon his best friend's father, one of the few people who knew the truth about Sirius Black.

"Well, as they say, anything's possible." Mr. Weasley replied, looking pointedly at Cho, before shooting a sly wink at Harry. "Although somethings are more possible than others, I would say."

Harry turned bright red, and was trying to manage a reply when Cho suddenly spoke up. "Perhaps they are…" The look on Harry's face afterwards was priceless.

"What am I doing? Oh! Molly will kill me for leaving you kids out here. Come on, I want all three of you home with me right this instant. Cho, Fleur, you can return to your place later, it's not safe out here right now." Mr. Weasley shook his head as he reached for a small packet of floo powder buried within his cloak. "Molly will be worried sick. With Ron and Hermione not due back until tomorrow, and the twins out with their business, she's got an inordinate amount of time to worry nowadays." He gave the three of them a strained smile. "Even caught me bringing home a computer from work just the other day…had to sleep in the doghouse. Very uncomfortable it is, with the gnomes and all."

Harry had an interesting vision of Mr. Weasley sleeping in a small house surrounded by gnomes, and had to try hard to hide his smile. Cho seemed to instinctively know what he was thinking, and merely arched her eyebrow imperiously. 

"Well, if you get in trouble today, I'm sure Harry would be happy to join you. Must be awfully lonely in there." Cho grinned at Harry's ensuing glare. "If it makes you feel better Potter, I could go with you." She stared with interest as Harry's face turned a new shade of bright red that she hadn't seen before.

"Why Harry! Such an offer!" Mr. Weasley replied with sudden glee, not noticing the exchange between the two. "Think about what we could talk about down there with Molly out of the way…not that she wouldn't catch on eventually. But I do want to talk to you about all this _Internet_ stuff I've been hearing about. Seems it's becoming rather big in the Muggle world. Such ingenuity those muggles have to live without magic..." He sighed happily, his mind on his favorite topic as he absently applied flame to his packet of floo powder. "That must be the life, living off a dozen inventions a day."

"Yes…it's great." Harry offered without much enthusiasm. Perhaps if he had been allowed to use the Internet more, he would be able to talk to Mr. Weasley about it in greater detail. But even after being left alone in the house at the Dursley's, Uncle Vernon had insisted on turning off anything that Harry could have used that would have cost the family money. 

"Well, Ron and Hermione will be back soon, and I'm sure they'll be glad to see them. Had an interesting time they did, with that Krum fellow. Although I can't say he was too pleased when he learned Ron was going along." Mr. Weasley smiled. "Although Ron didn't seem to mind much, and neither did Hermione. In fact, last I heard, they weren't even staying at Krum's place anymore. Said that they had found an old friend of yours…Neville Longbottom, and were keeping him company."

Harry grinned at the thought of his two best friends deserting one of the world's most celebrated players of Quidditch. There was more to that story than he had been told, he could count on it.

"Don't have much extra space back home…I reckon Fleur could stay with Ginny, and maybe you and Cho could share Ron's room…we'll see…" Mr. Weasley offered an apologetic smile, before beckoning into the rising flames ignited by the floo powder. "Well, no time like the present."

With a glance at Cho to gauge her reaction, Harry merely nodded and stepped in. It had been an interesting day, and by the look of Cho's face when she had learned Harry might have to share a room with her, it would be an even more interesting night.


End file.
